In New York Again!
by notmariah7
Summary: The cast of In New York is back! Now, they're older, definitely not wiser, and have a few new people to watch over...and you get to watch them, too! (Unfortunately, John is significantly less drunk this time. Sorry.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! In case you didn't know, this story is a sequel! If you haven't read the first one, In New York, you can find that on my profile. If you have read it, then please, continue!**

* * *

Alexander hated hospitals. The constant white-painted walls hurt his eyes after staring at them too long, the whole building was filled with that foul, too-sterile smell, and he was forced to stay there for the day. On the other hand, Alexander loved the hospital, because everything about it was currently helping his child be born.

Well, not _currently_. Eliza's water had broken earlier that day, but she wasn't set to give birth just yet. Also, the baby was _technically_ not his child, but Eliza was his and John's surrogate, so the boy would still be his. All of it was incredibly complicated to Alex and even more so to John.

"What if something goes wrong, though?" John wondered aloud, pacing the room.

"John," Alex sighed, "that's the eighth time you've asked me that. Today."

"But, what if something _does_ go wrong?"

"Nine."

"I'm sorry if I'm worried."

"Shouldn't _I_ be the worried one?" Eliza asked from her place on the bed. John laughed a bit.

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's alright."

"Why don't you sit down, Honey," Alex suggested. John exhaled deeply and sat down in the chair next to Alex.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" Alex took hold of his husband's hand, gently running his thumb over his wedding ring.

"Everything will be fine."

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

"Everything will be fine," Gil said.

"Easy for you to say," John rolled his eyes, "you're married already."

"And everything went fine." Gil smiled and stepped back to admire his work. He had just finished tying John's hair in a tight bun, leaving two curls neatly hanging down on the sides of his face.

"I'm pretty sure that's just a lie to make me feel better."

"It is," Hercules said as he adjusted John's suit jacket. "Gil was basically screaming the whole week before the wedding." Gil glared at his husband.

"Every bride is stressed before their wedding," Gil defended.

"You weren't a bride."

"I wore a dress."

"You wore a suit with a train. Even if you were wearing a dress, you still wouldn't be a bride."

"But, if I _was_ wearing a dress, I would look absolutely fabulous."

"You'd look more than fabulous, Gil."

"Okay, this is cute and all," John interrupted, "but it isn't helping me calm down." Just then, Peggy walked in, wearing a lovely dress and makeup, and casually eating out of a bag of chips.

"Oh, dang. Are you freaking out, too?" The girl wondered.

"I can only assume Alex is also freaking out?" Gil guessed.

"Bingo."

"Is he okay?" John asked, the worry in his voice intensifying. Peggy shrugged, dumping chip crumbs into her mouth.

"He'll be fine."

Meanwhile:

"Alex, _calm down!_ "

" _Seriously_ , dude."

"What are you even _doing?_ "

These words were uttered by Eliza, Maria, and Angelica as they watched Alexander pace the room and begin to rewrite his wedding vows for the fourth time.

"It has to be perfect," Alex mumbled.

"Not this again..." Angelica groaned. "Alex, the random shit you say when you're drunk and vomiting is more beautifully worded than anything we could ever hope to accomplish. You'll be fine."

"No." Alex's voice could barely be heard over the sound of his pencil scratching on the paper in front of him. "It can be better. I can do better. _It has to be better._ "

"He's shaking," Eliza stated.

"Yup," Angelica confirmed.

"Again."

"Yup."

"Alright, buddy." Maria stepped up to Alex, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. She stanched the paper and pencil from Alex's hands, crumpling the former, snapping the latter in half, and throwing both across the room.

"What the hell?" Alex yelled.

"You need to stop. Everything will be fine."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe me anyway."

"Just take a deep breath, Alex," Eliza said. He did just that, closing his eyes and making to run a hand through his hair.

"I swear to God, if you mess up your hair again, I will let you get married looking like trash." Alex lowered his hand at Maria's threat.

That was when the music began to play.

"Oh, no..." John gasped.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked him.

"I can't do this," Alexander whispered.

"You already said yes," Maria mentioned.

"I'm going to throw up."

"Don't do that," Eliza begged. "You'll ruin your suit."

"Seriously, man," Hercules said. "You're wearing white."

"I'm so scared," John muttered.

"Don't be."

"But-"

"No."

"What if he says no?" The boys only got glares in response.

John, Hercules, and Gil met up with the girls just in time to get in line and walk (well, John was basically shoved) into the chapel. John took his place at the front, his friends sitting in the closest chairs.

It was a small event, not many people having been invited. A couple of Herc's and Maria's family members were already sitting there, along with Martha Washington, the Schuylers, and four plus-ones in the back wearing coats. Alex didn't have anyone to invite besides the Washingtons, who had become parental figures to him. Although, John made him invite Aaron and Theodosia, who had recently gotten married, and, after some convincing, Thomas and James, who had recently gotten engaged. John was unable to get in contact with his siblings, which tore him up everyday up to the wedding, but he would have to go on without them.

John's thoughts were halted when the music changed to a wedding march. **(Enter me not knowing how weddings work and being too lazy to figure it out.)**

Alex began walking down the aisle, butterflies in his stomach and a wide smile on his face. His arm was linked with Mr. Washington's, keeping the tradition of walking down the aisle with his father alive. His hair had been combed and tied back in a tight ponytail, in an effort to not look like a mess. Alexander's tuxedo was mostly black, while John's was mostly white. Both suits displayed accents of turquoise, because "You have to match somehow!" Hercules had said when he was designing them.

In short, both Alexander and John thought their about-to-be spouse looked absolutely stunning.

Alexander was afraid he would trip and fall while walking down the aisle, but he didn't. He was afraid he would stutter, messing up his vows, but he didn't (he wasn't actually expecting to; he _was_ the best speaker he knew, after all). When "If anyone believes these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," was said, Alex was afraid someone would have something to say. His fear was partially realized when someone shouted, "Just kiss already!" Alexander laughed with the crowd as John flushed red.

Finally, the "I do's" came to an end. The priest said, "You may kiss the...groom."

There was a brief moment of tension that couldn't have lasted longer than a half a second, yet it felt like an hour. In this moment, John looked at Alexander and Alexander looked at John and it seemed like they were the only people in this now-silent world. A smile was shared between the fiancées, then John leaned forward and captured Alex's lips in a passionate kiss, and they suddenly weren't fiancées anymore.

They heard cheers from their friends, but the sound barely registered in their minds. When their lips separated, they gazed lovingly at each other, joyous tears in their eyes.

John kissed Alex again.

"Whoo!" Peggy yelled. "Get it, son!"

 ** _\/\/_**

The reception began with everyone congratulating the newlyweds. Two strange things happened during this time. The first was Thomas giving Alex a genuinely kind hug. The second was the small child that jumped on John's back.

"What the-"

"Mary!"

"Mary?!" John spun around, meeting the faces of Martha, Henry, and James, his three oldest siblings. The youngest (the girl on John's back) dropped down and smiled at him.

"Heya, Johnny," Martha greeted with a smirk. She hugged her brother, her siblings following suit.

"How are you here?" John asked.

"Well, one of your friends managed to get in contact with me," Martha explained. "Angelica, I think. I told Dad I was taking the kids to see my college for 'education purposes', so he let me have them for the week. Then, we hid in big coats to surprise you."

"Where are you going to school?"

"Well...after the situation with you, Dad stopped taking chances. I'm far enough away to live in a dorm, but I'm still stuck in South Carolina."

"How's college going?"

"I'm always exhausted."

"Want some advice? Staying awake for 72 hours straight and living solely off of coffee will not help with anything." Alexander, who had been talking to Lafayette, turned to glare at his husband.

"Hey, those are perfectly respectable tactics that cause essays to be written faster," Alex defended.

"Don't listen to him," John said. "You'll do fine without destroying yourself."

"Yeah," Martha laughed. "Who knows? Maybe my college life will be better than yours. Maybe I'll meet the girl of my dreams." John's smile fell abruptly.

"Wait... _girl?_ "

"Hey, so what food do you have here?" Martha wondered, speaking quickly and hurrying away.

"Wait!" John called out, following his sister. "What do you mean, _'girl'?_ "

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

Eliza gasped in pain. Alex looked up at her, while John stood and rushed to her side.

"Is everything okay?" John worried. "Should I get a doctor?" Eliza managed to form a small smile.

"No, I'm fine," Eliza said, taking a few calming breaths. "It's just a contraction."

"Nothing big?"

"Not yet."

"Okay." John sat back down, beginning to nervously pick at is fingernails. "I'm sorry about this, Eliza."

"About what?"

"All of this."

"Why are you sorry?"

"'Cause you have to go through all this pain and shit for us."

"I don't _have_ to do this. I _want_ to. You didn't _make_ me do anything. I agreed to this, after all."

"I know...but, still...I wanted this so bad that I-"

"John."

"Yeah?"

"Stop freaking out."

"Okay." John continued to fidget while Alex quietly laughed at him.

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

When Alexander returned to his apartment, he caught John talking on the phone. They had been married for two years now, but Alex still recalled the first time this happened. It was during the first year that they dated, a week before John's father visited. Thankfully, the phone call John was having now seemed to be significantly less unfortunate.

"Gil, you've told me to do that, like, four times already," John said, his voice floating out from the kitchen. Alex listened to him talk as he went to put his school bag in his bedroom. "It's _not_ just a question, though. It's our lives." John grew quieter as Alex got farther away, and the last thing he heard for a few minutes was "Yeah, but I want to..."

 _Want to what?_

As Alex left his room, John could be heard again, saying, "Okay, I'll ask. I just...ugh, I'm so nervous...Okay, okay, I'll do it...Yeah, I'll let you know...Bye." Alexander silently walked into the kitchen just in time to watch John put his phone in his pocket.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked, surprising his husband.

"Oh, hey, yeah, everything's fine." John cleared his throat and leaned against the counter, pretending to be casual. "You're back early."

"Um...I'm back late."

"Oh...huh."

"So, what were you doing?"

"Uh...I was just...getting some advice from Gil."

"With what?"

"With asking you a question."

"What question?" John blushed deeply, his freckles standing out on his pink skin.

"Well...I...I, uh..."

"Come on, Johnny," Alex teased, poking his husband in the stomach. "Spit it out."

"I...I want to...I wanted to ask if...if you want to..."

"Oh, my gosh, John," Alex giggled. "What is it? Do you want to try something new in bed or-"

" _Alex!_ " If it was possible for John's face to get redder, it did. "No, I..." He took a deep breath that did nothing to help calm his fear. "I..."

"John. How hard is it to ask me a-"

"I want a kid!" John blurted. He sighed once the words left his mouth. Alexander, however, froze in shock.

"Uh..."

"It's okay if you don't want to have one right now," John hurried to say, seeing Alex's surprise. "I mean, I have work, and you have work and school, so I get if you don't think we'll have time, but-"

"Okay," Alexander whispered.

"Wh-What?"

"Okay." Alex smiled, taking John's hand. "We can do that."

"Really?" John's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Yeah. We can ask Gil and Herc how to go about adopting and-"

"Alex," John bit his lip, mumbling, "I kinda don't want to adopt."

"Well, how else would we...oh. You...you want a surrogate."

"If possible."

"Alright. If we can find someone willing, then sure." Alex leaned forward to kiss John, smirking into his lips. He gently tugged on John's shirt, then pulled away to whisper, "I know it's considered impossible, but we should at least _try_ to make a baby ourselves."

"Holy shit, Alex."

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

Eliza cried out again. For a moment, her eyes were screwed shut, and her breathing was in shallow hisses.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" John inquired.

"John," Eliza muttered as she attempted to slow her breathing. "Shut up. Right now."

"O-Okay."

While Eliza recovered from the burst of "minor" pain, Alexander turned to John and said, "You really need to calm down, John."

"How? My son is about to be born, one of my best friends is giving birth to him, so much can go wrong, and-"

"Shut up!" Eliza yelled.

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

"Yes!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course! I'd be honored to be your surrogate." Eliza smiled in the way she did when she told the truth (Alex and John could barely remember what she looked like when she lied, because she hardly ever did).

"Are you sure?" John asked. "This is kind of a big thing."

"Yeah, but you want a kid, and I'm willing to help."

"Well, then," Alex breathed, "that was fairly easy."

 ** _\/\/_**

"This is the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life," Eliza groaned as she tried to walk up the stairs. Emphasis on "tried". It had been about six and a half months since she became pregnant, and her stomach was roughly the size of a large balloon.

The boys' apartment was only on the second floor of the building, so Eliza made the decision to take stairs. She thought it would be easy to walk up one flight of stairs.

She thought wrong.

When she arrived at Alex and John's apartment, Eliza had to take a moment to catch her breath. She knocked on the door, heard footsteps on the other side, then the door opened to reveal John.

"Hey, Eliza," John greeted with a warm smile. "Come on in." Eliza stepped inside as Alexander walked in from the other room.

"Hey, how are you?" Alex wondered.

"I need to sit down," Eliza stated, already moving towards the couch. John snickered from behind her as she plopped onto the chair. "Don't laugh at me! I just walked up the stairs, which has become extremely difficult because of your child."

"We could've visited you instead," Alex said. "We don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I'm a woman. I can deal with a little pain."

 ** _\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_**

This was not "a little pain". No, most definitely not. This fact was made clear when Eliza screamed, " _FUCK!_ "

Both John and Alex shot up, and Alex said, "That's new."

"You- _ah_ -you think, Sherlock?"

"Is it-"

"Yes, dumbass!" Alexander ran to the hall to get the doctor, while John stood at Eliza's side. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. "I'm sorry," Eliza said between ragged breaths, "if I hurt you or your feelings."

"I thought I was the worried one," John halfway laughed as Alex returned with the doctors behind him. He stood on the other side of Eliza, taking her other hand. "Here we go."

For hours-several agonizing hours-Eliza screamed nearly nonstop as she gave birth. John and Alex gave her words of confidence and let her basically crush their hands all the while.

John hated when children cried. The sound brought horrible memories to his mind. When he heard a child crying, all he would want to do is stop and help them. In short, a crying child was essentially the bane of John's existence.

Except for right now. Right now, those little baby wails made John gasp in excitement and smile wider than he ever had in his life. He looked up at Alexander, whose eyes were filled with tears of joy.

"Oh, my God..." Alex muttered. He swiftly gave the exhausted Eliza a hug and a kiss on the head. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Eliza just smiled weakly.

"Holy shit..." John sighed. "That was the scariest thing I've ever been through."

"Shut up, will you?" Eliza croaked, making Alex laugh again. A nurse walked in then, a small bundle of blanket in her arms.

"Would the mother like to hold him first?" The woman asked. Alex and John glanced at each other before nodding and taking a step back. She gently placed the bundle in Eliza's outstretched arms. Eliza pushed part of the cloth to the side, better revealing the infant's face.

"He's beautiful." He was. The baby's skin was smooth, soft, and light and his eyes sparkled with curious youth. His fingers were tiny and weakly curled around the top of Eliza's hospital gown. He yawned, and the three friends around him swooned from the cuteness.

"He's so adorable," Alex commented with a smile.

"God, I love him already," John said.

"What's his name?" The nurse asked.

"Philip."

* * *

 **Hey, hey, hey! I'm back biches!**

 **So, what do you think? Cool cool.**

 **Sooo, sorry this took so long to upload hehe...oops. This _might_ have fairly slow updates, but I'm going to try to make it interesting. Both the parents and kids are going to have their own issues and POVs, so everyone from the first story will still be involved. If you have read my other story, They Don't Teach You Love, then you already know the children included. ;)**

 **Also, could you tell I had no clue what to title this?**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, come on, Philip," Alexander pleaded. "It's a simple word."

Philip just happily gargled his own spit in some form of a response.

"Ugh..." Alex sat back in his chair. "John, I think our child is mute."

"That's impossible," John called from the kitchen. "He cries and makes weird noises all the time."

"He can't even say 'Papa'. It's a two-syllable word!" John could be heard sighing before walking around the wall to stare at his husband.

"Alex...he's 7 months old."

"I know..." Alexander looked down at the baby sitting on his lap. Philip tossed his arms around, giggling all the while. He could sit up now, and he had begun to crawl. Alex was ashamed to admit that he had lost track of his son on multiple occasions. Philip was usually found ten minutes later, underneath a bed or desk or table. John argued that Philip just needed more room to explore.

So, they decided to find a house.

* * *

"I don't wanna leave!" Philip wailed, trying to wiggle his way out of his car seat.

"Philip, please," John argued. "I promise, you'll like this place more."

"No!"

"We'll stop for ice cream if you stop crying."

"NO!"

"This is going to be a long hour," Alex sighed.

"I suppose this is what we get for trying to move a four year old." John's voice could barely be heard over Philip's cries of bloody murder. These screams didn't let up for 40 minutes, when Philip fell asleep. His parents sighed in relief when the silence passed over the car. Alex looked back at his son and smiled.

"He's so cute."

"Yeah, because he looks like me." Alex turned to his husband.

"Ha. You wish."

"What? Are you saying I'm not cute?"

"Yup."

"How dare you?" John gasped in mock offense. Alex laughed at the pout on John's face, then John laughed, too. Alex looked at Philip again.

"He does look like you, though." Although Philip's eyes were closed, Alexander knew that they were a dark hazel and often sparkled with excitement. His hair was just like John's, complete with quickly growing curls. His smiles were bright and his laugh sounded like tinkling bells. He even had some freckles. "Oh, John...I'm getting sentimental."

"Whatever you do, don't think about him going to school in a couple years."

"John!"

After a few more minutes of driving, the small family arrived in a small, suburban town and pulled up to a small, cozy house. It was a simple one-story with a two car garage, but to little Philip, who had just been awoken, it was a castle.

"Woah!" The boy gaped when he got out of the car.

"You like it?" John asked.

"It's awesome!" John rolled his eyes, recalling that less than an hour ago, Philip had screamed that he would hate his new house.

Just then, another car pulled into the driveway. Out stepped Hercules and Gil, smiling and waving. They helped two toddlers out of their car, who both ran straight towards Philip. They both had blue eyes, but the boy's hair was mousy brown, while the girl's was a light strawberry blonde. Gil and Hercules were originally only going to adopt the girl, but when they found out she had a twin, Gil couldn't bear to separate them. So, they brought in both Adrienne and Georges. They were bilingual since they first learned how to speak, because Gil taught them French just as much as Herc taught them English. Of course, Alexander, always striving for the best, taught Philip how to speak English, French, and Spanish. This was why the three children were currently rolling in the grass in a group hug, laughing and speaking to each other in French.

"Come on," Hercules mumbled. "Grass stains are so hard to get out." Gil snickered, linking their arms together.

"Philip seems to like it," Gil observed.

"He didn't an hour ago," John said.

"Wait until he finds out Georges and Adrienne live three streets away."

"He'll be ecstatic," Alex assured. "In fact, we might send him over every few days so he won't be in the way while we're unpacking."

"Speaking of, you are helping us with that, right?" John questioned his friends.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Hercules sighed, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get started."

For the rest of the day, the four adults unpacked boxes and moved furniture into the house while the kids ran around. Eventually, they were able to sit the kids in front of the television to keep them busy, making the moving process considerably easier. By 7pm, all the larger pieces of furniture had been moved inside, along with multiple boxes full of other things, some of which were still unopened. But, of course, by then, everyone was too exhausted to do anything else, and the kids were hungry. Although, the adults could have figured that out without their children yelling the fact at them.

"Daaaddy, we're huuungry," Philip whined, lightly slapping his father's leg.

"Okay, Philip," John said, dismissing him, because he was talking to his friends. Philip pouted, looking to his fellow toddlers for help. Georges and Adrienne felt like they knew what to do. They had always assumed that when their parents weren't paying attention to them, they were just speaking the wrong language.

"Papa! Nous avons faim!" Georges shouted.

"D'accord," Gil sighed. "We'll get you some food, alright?" The kids cheered, chanting for pizza. Their parents simply laughed at the antics of their children.

* * *

It took a long time, over a month, but everything had finally been unpacked. John and Alex flopped down onto the bed, tired, like they always were.

"We did it!" John cheered, stretching himself out. "The house is ours!"

"Well, technically, the bank owns it-"

"Alex, just be happy about this."

"Okay," Alex laughed. John rolled over to face his husband, a soft smile on his face.

"Do you ever have times when you realize that you're so, _so_ happy?" John asked.

"Yes, actually. Why?"

"Because I just realized it again." Alexander smiled, moving over to cuddle with John.

"So did I." Alex was about to drift asleep when John spoke again.

"Um, hey, Alex?"

"Yes?"

"I, um, I think I want another kid..."

* * *

Philip was at his aunts' house, coloring pretty pictures all day long. His parents had brought him there the day before, because they didn't want to bring him to the hospital until his sister was born. That was okay.

That previous day was the first time Philip met his new cousin. Aunt Peggy and Aunt Maria had only had him for a few months, but he was five already, just like Philip. He had been hiding behind his mother's legs when Philip arrived.

"Hi! I'm Philip!" He waved at the other boy, who stepped back farther.

"Come on, Stephen," Aunt Maria said, gently pushing the boy forward. "Say hello."

"H-Hi..." Stephen whispered. He had messy, brown hair, and brown eyes. Philip smiled at him.

The next day, while Philip was coloring, his dad came to pick him up. He had been talking to Stephen, who sat next to him, silent.

"I think my favorite color is yellow, because it's the color of the sun, and my dad says it means happiness."

"I like green," Stephen said.

"Philip!" Aunt Peggy called. "Time to leave!" Philip hopped off of his chair, grabbed his picture, and ran down the stairs, jumping into his father's arms.

"Hey, Pip," Dad said, messing with Philip's hair.

"Daddy, Daddy, look!" Philip held up the picture he drew of a smiling flower.

"It's beautiful! Is it for your sister?" Philip nodded quickly. "You want to go show it to her?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, let's go." Dad turned to Aunt Peggy. "Thank you for watching him. We owe you one."

"Yes, you do," Aunt Peggy said.

"No, you don't," Aunt Maria yelled from a different room.

The whole car ride there, Philip was jumping with excitement as much as he could while strapped in his car seat. Dad carried him up to the room, then let him run inside. Papa and Aunt Eliza were already there, but Aunt Eliza got to lay on a bed.

"You excited, Philip?" Papa asked. Philip nodded, hopping up and down. Papa led him down the hall to a different place. It was a long hallway with glass on one side. Papa lifted Philip so he could see through the glass. Inside the other room were a lot of babies in little beds. Papa pointed to one that was close to the window. "There she is. That's Angelica."

"Just like Aunt Angelica!" Philip said.

"Yup." Philip looked down at the baby girl. She was wrapped in a blanket, asleep. That didn't stop Philip from talking to her, however.

"Hi, Angelica!" Philip waved at the girl, beaming. "My name is Philip, and I'm your big brother! Look, I drew you a picture!" Philip lifted his drawing and pressed it against the glass. "This is a flower and this is the sun and this is a cloud and this is the sky and this is grass. The flower and sun and cloud are smiling, because they're happy. The grass and sky aren't smiling, because they don't have faces."

Papa started laughing.

* * *

Philip stormed into the house, throwing his book bag onto the floor in the entryway, then running to his room and slamming the door. John had been in the living room reading a book when his son had run in. He looked up, confused, before setting down his book and heading to Philip's room.

"Philip?" John called out, knocking on the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Philip yelled back.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." John didn't believe his son, so he opened the door and walked inside the room. Philip sat on his bed with his knees pulled against his chest and an angry pout on his face. John sat next to him, placing a hand on his back.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong? Did something happen at school?" Philip hesitantly nodded. "What was it?" John couldn't help but wonder what could have caused this much stress for a fifth grader.

Philip took in a deep breath before explaining. "There are two new girls this year, and after school, one of them was being mean to the other one, so I told her to stop, but then she started yelling at me." The boy's cheeks puffed out in frustration.

"Who are they?"

"The mean one's name is Mary, and she thinks she's super cool just because she was adopted this year." Philip rolled his eyes. He already had three friends who were adopted, so the concept was nothing surprising. "The nice one is Theodosia. She moved here from upstate."

"Nice, huh?" John smirked. "You didn't say she was nice." Philip's eyes widened, and his face went pink.

"I-I mean, she's nicer than Mary is. I barely even know her anyway."

"Okay..." John lifted his hands in surrender, although, now he had a theory to express when Alexander got home. "I'm proud of you for standing up for her. Maybe you should try to make friends with her. Since she's new, I'm sure she would love some friends. Plus, you need to set a good example for your sister; she just started school this year."

"Yeah, okay," Philip mumbled, his sour face softened. "I'll talk to her."

* * *

"Dad, stop," Philip groaned. "It's just high school."

"Yeah, but it's your first day of high school," John said, taking another picture. Angie laughed from behind her father.

"Shut up. You have to deal with this next year."

"That's middle school," Angie said. "It's not as big of a deal."

"I assure you, it is," Alexander snickered as John took another picture.

"It's for prosperity!" John argued.

"Dad, I'm gonna miss the bus!"

"But-" John cried out when Alexander took his phone away.

"Have a good day!" Alex called as the kids ran out. They got to the bus stop just as the school bus pulled up to it. They got on, and Angie sat by her friends while Philip found his seat near Georges and Adrienne in the back.

"Are you excited?" Georges asked once Philip sat down.

"Haha, no." Philip noticed that Georges was wearing halfway decent clothes today, as if he was trying to show off. Adrienne was dressed like Philip, however, with casual clothes and her rainbow pride bracelet.

"Aw, why not?"

"What sane person is excited for high school?" Adrienne questioned. Georges stuck his tongue out at her.

"You two are le pire."

" _You're_ the worst."

* * *

"I'm leaving!" Philip announced as he headed out the front door.

"Alright, have a good day!" His father responded. Philip ran out and hopped in the back of the car that Georges and Adrienne shared. The perks of being twins. They headed off to school, singing loudly to music as they went. When they arrived, they saw Theo walking up to the building. Georges honked the horn, making Theo jump and shriek in surprise. The twins laughed while Philip went pale.

"Dude! What the hell?" Philip leaned forward to slap Georges before stepping out and hurrying to Theo. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Theo sighed, moving a few stray hairs back into her bun. "You would think they'd be more mature now that we're juniors."

"Really?" Philip snorted. "You thought the twins could actually be mature?"

"Good point." Philip held the door open for her as they went inside.

"Honestly, you're the only mature one out of all of us."

"You think I don't know that?" Theo smirked.

"Alright, don't toot your own horn. Georges already did that today." Theo rolled her eyes. "But, seriously. The only one maybe as mature as you is probably Stephen." This was said with perfect timing, because they met up with Stephen right then.

"Why are you talking about me?" Stephen asked, not even bothering to take out his headphones.

"You're the second most mature person in our friend group," Philip explained. "Theo is first."

"Hmm...no. I'm first."

"What?" Theo gasped with semi-fake shock.

"Yeah, Georges acts like a child, Adrienne rants every five minutes, and you two never _actually_ speak your mind. Especially when it comes to who you- _Hey_ _!_ " Georges had suddenly appeared and pulled Stephen's headphones out. "Give them back!"

"Nope," Georges giggled, tossing the headphones to Adrienne.

"Sorry, dude," Adrienne said, giving the headphones to Theo. Theo, being mature, handed Stephen his property.

"Why am I friends with you people?" Stephen grumbled.

"Because you love us?" Georges guessed.

"That's highly debatable."

"Because we love you?" Philip tried. Stephen just pursed his lips and put his headphones back in.

"Y'all are lame." Stephen's friends laughed.

"I'm the coolest person you know," Adrienne said. She flipped her hair, although she had a pixie cut.

"Again, debatable."

"Well, who's cooler? Mary?" Stephen gagged, only halfway pretending.

"Fine, you win."

"Yes!" Adrienne and Georges high-fived. Stephen rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so, I figured it out," Philip said. "If we were in an anime-"

"Why an anime?" Theo asked. "Why not a book?"

"O-Okay, a book-"

"A manga!" Georges suggested. "It's right in the middle."

"Alright, if we were in a manga..." Philip waited for another interruption, but it never came. "Georges would be the overly excited character who's always trying his best to make people happy." Georges smiled widely. "Adrienne would be the super chill girl who is way out of everyone's league, for multiple reasons." Philip gestured to Adrienne's bracelet while she pointed finger guns at him. "Stephen is the kid who acts like he hates everyone and everything-and he might not even be joking-but he actually has insecurities." Stephen flipped Philip off. "I'm going to ignore that. Theo is the quiet, reserved, smart, stereotypically cute girl who really doesn't deserve to deal with this crap, but does anyway."

"Stereotypically cute?" Theo asked. Philip felt all eyes on him.

"Uh..." Philip sputtered. Stephen shook his head. "Well, yeah, _stereotypically_. It's kind of weird that the shy character trait is _always_ associated with the cutest character-I mean, that's not to say you aren't cute or anything-I mean, I don't think that-"

"Philip, what character would you be?" Stephen asked with a sigh, his voice sounding rehearsed.

Philip shot his friend a 'thank you' glance before saying, "I don't know who I'd be, actually. I think all the usual characters have been covered."

Theo snapped her fingers as if the previous situation hadn't even occurred. "I know who you would be," she said. "It's pretty obvious, honestly, based on your personality."

"Who?"

"The _main_ character."

* * *

 **And that pretty much brings us to the present. Well, there are still a few flashbacks that have yet to happen, but those are surprises...**

 **Also, my other story (They Don't Teach You Love) was pretty much a test to see if these characters would be liked. I mean, I would have put them in anyway, so...**


	3. Chapter 3

As Philip headed to his first class, he and his friends passed two separate couples that were making out at the side of the hallway. The guy in each relationship was holding a colorful sign and some balloons or a stuffed animal. _Ugh...homecoming,_ he thought, rolling his eyes. It was so pointless, in his opinion. In fact, there were times when Philip thought that high school relationships in general were pointless.

"See you later, Philip," Theo said with a smile as she turned into her classroom. Philip smiled back.

... _What was I thinking about? Whatever._

Philip, Stephen, and Georges walked into their government class and took their seats next to each other.

"Did you understand the homework for this class?" Georges asked Philip.

"I had to," Philip sighed. "Have you met my dad?" Georges nodded.

"Oui, I understand. My papa would kill Adrienne and I if we got lower than a B in history."

"You guys actually did the homework?" Stephen snorted. "You know it was just extra credit, right?"

"Our parents aren't as chill as yours, you know," Philip said. Stephen just rolled his eyes as the bell rang.

Class went on like normal, with Philip taking notes on everything the teacher said and Stephen falling asleep after twenty minutes. For the last five minutes of class, the teacher let them do what they liked, so the boys just talked. In the middle of their conversation, Stephen's eyes widened, then narrowed in disgust.

"Ugh, don't look now," Stephen mumbled. He spoke too late, however, as Philip and Georges both looked up at the girl who was approaching them. She wore a short, gray dress that barely covered her rear, and a green and blue flannel over it. She appeared taller than she actually was because of her two-inch heels. Her hair was a mass of vibrant orange coils, which was surprisingly not dyed. She had freckles covering her nose and cheeks, but many of them had been covered by perfectly applied makeup. Just by looking at her, many could guess that she was popular, which she was. She was also one of the worst human beings on the planet to most people, especially Stephen. Her name: Mary Jefferson.

"Hello, boys!" Mary greeted with a strained smile and a valley girl accent. The look on her face quickly turned flirty when she faced Stephen. "Hi, Stephen." He avoided her gaze, choosing to read his book instead. Mary cleared her throat and continued, "Are you going to homecoming?" Stephen didn't even bother answering while Philip and Georges shrugged, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "Well, you should go."

"Um...why?" Philip wondered.

"Because," Mary spoke as if the answer was obvious, "everyone who goes to homecoming has the chance to be invited to my party next month!"

Stephen sighed, "Why do you think we would want to go?" Mary perked up at Stephen's voice.

"Well, you and your friends never seem to do anything fun, so I thought-"

"We have plenty of fun without you trying to sleep with me." Mary blushed and gasped in mock surprise.

"Stephen Schuyler! How could you even insinuate that?" Stephen flipped the page in his book.

"It's really obvious. Also, I'm not as rich as you think I am."

"Stephen, you don't think I like you because of your money, do you?"

"I don't think. I know."

"Well, you...you..." Mary sputtered, then huffed in frustration. "Ugh, why are you such an ass to me?"

"You were an ass first."

"I know you don't think that," Mary smirked.

"You wanna bet?"

"I'll get the truth out of you one of these days, Honey!" Mary winked, twirled, and strutted off. Stephen exhaled and dropped his head onto the desk.

"She just gets crazier every year, doesn't she?"

"She is obsessed with you, dude," Philip agreed.

"I'm not even the richest one in the school, so why me?"

"I'm sorry, ami," Georges said.

"It's not your fault. You can't stop her just because you're cousins."

"Second cousins."

"Whatever." Stephen ran his hand through his hair. "The thing is, I don't even know if I..." He bit his lip.

"What?" Philip asked.

"Nothing. I'm definitely not going to homecoming now." Philip glanced at Georges, and they shared the same concerned look. It was unusual for Stephen not to say how he felt about something, especially if it involved Mary.

"...Yeah, me neither," Philip finally said.

"Really? You aren't going to ask Theo this year?" Philip's face burned and his stomach filled with butterflies.

"Wha-no. No. She doesn't even-We would just go as friends anyway so...no." Georges and Stephen began laughing. "Shut up!"

"Dude, just ask her out."

"You've been in love with her since fifth grade," Georges mentioned. Philip didn't respond. Thankfully, he never had to. The bell rang, and he hurried to his next class.

None of Philip's friends were in his second class, but Theo was in his third hour, chemistry. Ironic. After they sat next to each other at the lab table, Philip struggled to find his words before he finally asked, "So, have you thought about going to homecoming?" Theo raised an eyebrow at him, studying him with intelligent eyes. He blushed under her gaze.

"Not really," Theo said. "But Adrienne brought it up last hour. She said that she might go, but she wants me to go with her. I think I might, at least for a little while."

"Ah, okay." Philip hadn't actually been expecting Theo to actually want to go to a school dance. She wasn't one to be in crowded areas, and none of them had bothered going to homecoming the past two years, anyway. "Yeah, Georges will probably go if Adrienne is going. I think Stephen and I are just going to hang-"

"You should come, too."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you and Stephen. It won't be nearly as much fun unless we're all there. Besides, Georges and Adrienne will actually be dancing and having fun, and Stephen will be standing in a corner on his phone, so who am I supposed to talk to?"

"Uh..." Philip cleared his throat and composed himself. "Yeah, maybe. Oh, but Stephen was really set on not going, and I wouldn't want to leave him alone..." Theo nodded, though she seemed a bit disappointed.

"I understand. It's a shame, though." Philip couldn't stand the frown on Theo's beauti-on Theo's face.

"I mean," Philip hurried to say, "I can try to convince Stephen to go."

"Would you?"

The way Theo's eyes lit up made Philip continue, "Yeah, sure. I guess I wouldn't mind going."

"Cool," was all Theo said, but hearing that and seeing her smile was enough to make Philip feel happy.

 _Well then,_ Philip thought as class started, _I guess I'm going to homecoming._


	4. Chapter 4

**_That morning..._**

John didn't dream very often. Sure, he would have the occasional nightmare, but usually, his nights were quiet, still, and dark as he slept. Of course, the one time he has a good dream, it's interrupted by an alarm the moment it starts to get interesting.

John reached over to his bedside table to shut off his alarm. This task was surprisingly difficult, considering John's husband, Alexander, was still laying on his chest, fast asleep. John smiled just from looking at him. They had been together for about two decades, but John still felt that child-like rush of love anytime he saw his husband.

"Alex," John whispered, brushing Alexander's long, dark hair away from his face. "Alex, wake up." Alexander groaned, nuzzling his face against John's bare chest. John sighed. "Alex, come on."

"Noooo..." Alex tightened his grip around John's waist, keeping his eyes shut tight. "I'm tiiiired."

"It's not my fault you stayed up too late to work."

"But your idea to get me to stop working just tired me out more."

John smirked. "That was the point, Alex." Alexander groaned again. "Come on, we need to go to work."

"Nooooo..."

"The kids are already up."

"The kids are morning people."

"Alex-"

"I don't wanna work today."

"What?" John gasped. "Alexander Hamilton doesn't want to work? Who are you? What have you done with my husband?" John felt Alex smile against his chest.

"I ate him."

"You fiend!" Alex giggled as John attacked him with tickles. John flipped them over so that he was straddling Alex's hips. Alex's hair was tangled and spread out behind his head like a fan. John smirked as he pinned Alexander down with his hands next to us head and hovered above him. "This is familiar."

"Shut up!" Alex snickered. John hummed as he kissed Alex, moving his hands down to grip Alex's waist. This, of course, was a fatal mistake, for as soon as his hands were free, Alexander grabbed a pillow and hit John in the face with it. John yelped and fell back onto the bed, and Alex scrambled up to hold John down instead. Alex glared at him in tired frustration until John pulled him down into another kiss.

"I love you, Alex," John mumbled.

"I love you, too."

"Mmm...we still need to get up, you know. We'll be late."

"Yeah, I know..." Alex sighed. "But I still don't want to."

"I know."

* * *

"Hercules..." Someone gently poked Hercules in the face, but he didn't move. "Heeerculeeees..." He still refused to get up. "Mon amour. Mon chéri. Mon coeur." Herc just rolled over. His husband sighed. "I made breakfast." Herc's eyes shot open, and he sat up, moving so fast that he nearly hit his head against his husband's. "Good morning, Hercules."

"Morning, Gil," Hercules responded. He leaned in for a kiss, but Gil backed away.

"You can go kiss your breakfast if you wake up because of it instead of me." Gil slipped off the bed and headed for the door, but Hercules was up in a second. Herc grabbed his husband by the waist, spun him around, and kissed him passionately, making him gasp. The gasp soon turned into a sigh of pleasure as Gil wrapped his arms around Hercules' neck and kissed him in return. Gil was a bit dazed when they parted, but he was smiling, and that was all Hercules wanted.

"I was just messing with you, you know," Hercules said quietly.

"I know," Gil murmured.

"I love you."

"I know. I love you, too. Now, put on some pants and come get breakfast."

* * *

Peggy woke up to hear her wife saying, "I don't want 'by the end of the week.' I need the files done by _tomorrow_." Maria was already up and dressed in a black, white, and red suit. Her long hair had been pulled up in a bun, she wore simple makeup and glasses, and she was talking on the phone. Peggy slowly sat up in bed, her poofy hair in front of her face. When Maria saw that Peggy was awake, the stressed-out look on her face softened a bit. She stepped over to the bed and gave Peggy a swift kiss. "Morning," Maria whispered, covering her phone with her hand.

"'G'morning," Peggy yawned.

"I've got to get to work. I already woke up Stephen for you."

"Thanks, babe. I love you."

"I love you, too." Maria pecked her wife on the cheek, then gathered her things and waved as she left. Peggy waved back, then flopped back onto the bed, sighing.

The problem with being married to someone who is so high up in an important business is that she is _always_ working. Maria didn't always have time to spend with her family, but Peggy knew that she at least tried. That was enough.

* * *

 **And then we skip to the end of the day because why not?**

As soon as John walked into his house, he kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his jacket, and tossed his keys onto the kitchen table. He sighed and rubbed his face.

Philip walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water. "Hey, Dad," Philip said.

"Hi, Philip," John muttered.

"How was work?"

John sighed again. He loved his job, but he hated his job. He worked at a rescue and release center for sea animals. Some days, John had to give simple medical checkups to the sea turtles, which was nice. Other days, however... "Three words: emergency dolphin surgery." Philip winced.

"Which dolphin?"

"A new one. We named her Dr. Pepper."

"Why?"

"She was found beached with a can of Dr. Pepper lodged in her throat."

"Oh."

"Yeah. All the other animals are okay, though. The fish are still swimming, the turtles' shells are healing-Hey, do the turtles still need to be fed?"

"No, Angie fed them when we got home. Shelly is getting along with Eleanor again."

"Good." When Philip was six, John got another pet turtle. Philip had jokingly named her Shelly, and the name stuck. John still had Eleanor, of course, as a reminder of his mother.

When Angie was seven and Philip was twelve, the kids had asked why their pet's name was Eleanor. John had told them that it was his mother's name, but then they wondered why they had never met her before. John had decided "screw it", sat the kids down, and told them. He told them about his mother, his father, his life, everything. The children were so sweet that they both have him hugs after John had explained everything, which made John immediately forget the troubles from his past.

Of course, many people would say that children so young shouldn't hear about things like abuse and suicide, but John believed the opposite. He and Alexander thought that it was best that they knew these things so they not only knew that they were bad, but also because, if one of their parents were to have a panic attatck, they should know what was going on. In fact, they had already learned about Alex's life a couple years prior, when he had suddenly had another PTSD attack.

Besides, Philip and Angie were tough kids.

"Hey, Dad?" Philip called out.

"Yeah?" John replied.

"Um...I'm thinking about going to homecoming this year..." John blinked and raised and eyebrow.

"Really? You haven't wanted to go before."

"Yeah..." Philip blushed a bit. "Adrienne and Georges decided to go, and Adrienne convinced Theo to go, too, but Theo's only going if Stephen and I go with."

"Hmm...so Theo asked you to homecoming?" Philip's eyes widened.

"Dad! N-Not like that!" John laughed at the sight of Philip's bright red face. Everyone knew that Philip had the biggest crush on Theo, including his parents.

"Alright, Pip. I'm just messing with you."

"That's not funny," Philip grumbled.

"Okay, I'll stop." John still had a smirk on his face. "So, you want to go to homecoming, then?" Philip shrugged and nodded. "Okay. You need to get some proper clothes, though."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. But I can go?"

"Sure."

"Cool. Thanks, Dad!" Philip went back to his room.

John smiled, then looked through the kitchen to see what they could have for dinner. Just as he decided on some kind of pasta, Alexander walked into the house, groaning. He continued to make this excruciating noise as he dropped his stuff, came up to John, and hugged him from behind.

"Hey, Alex," John smiled. "How was work?" Alex groaned even louder.

"I. Hate. Everyone."

"Aw, that's not true."

Alex sighed. "Well, I hate the Jeffersons and everyone else I work with."

John hummed as he turned around to hug his husband. "And why is that?"

"The Jeffersons are assholes, and everyone else is an idiot."

"Mhm...okay..." John smirked and kissed Alex on the top of his head.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"No, I do. It's just that you complain about this every day."

"Well, that's because it's true."

"Okay."

"Pop!" Angie called from her room. "This geometry homework es imposible!"

Alex exhaled but grinned. "Sólo un minuto!" He yelled back. "I'd better go help her with that," Alex told John.

"Okay. I'll make some dinner." Alex nodded and started walking down the hall. "Wait, uh, Philip wants to go to homecoming this year."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Theo asked him to go."

" _Really?_ "

"Yeah. Don't tell him I told you that."

"Got it." Alex winked and made a zipping motion over his lips. He then walked off to Angie's room to help her with her homework.

John sometimes thought about how unconventional his family seemed. Two fathers-both with depressing pasts, one with PTSD-two kids who were-not to brag-smarter and tougher than most others, no grandparents, and two turtles. Yeah, they were a bit strange to a lot of people, but to John, they were strange in the best possible way. He loved them.

John smiled.

* * *

 **So, because it took me so long to update, I figured I might as well give you some cutesy, fluffy stuff. (Also I needed a big ol' filler chapter). So, yeah, there you go.**


	5. Chapter 5

Philip was at Stephen's house when he asked, "So...you're for sure not going to homecoming, right?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Just...um...I was thinking about going..." Stephen looked up at his phone at Philip.

"What?"

"I just...I don't know..."

Stephen put down his phone. "Dude, we were planning to hang out that night."

"Well, okay, so, Georges and Adrienne are going, and I guess Adrienne convinced Theo to go-"

"She asked you to go, didn't she?"

"Not exactly? She said it wouldn't be fun unless _all_ of us are there-"

"She _knows_ I don't want to go."

"Yeah, but-"

"So you'd rather go to homecoming-which we all agreed is stupid and that we would never go-than hang out with your best friend like you've been planning to for weeks?"

Philip blushed and muttered, "Lo siento..."

"Sorry," Stephen repeated mockingly.

"Listen, we hang out all the time, and we still will. Besides, if you go, too, it's not like I'm technically bailing on you."

"That's exactly-" Stephen sighed deeply. "Fine...I'll go."

"Really? But-"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. You're an ass, but...why not?"

"I said I was sorry..." Philip stared down at his hands.

"It's fine. As long as you get closer to asking Theo out."

"Dude! Come on!" Stephen just laughed at him.

* * *

"Oh, no. I am not wearing that," Theo said. Adrienne looked at the dress she was holding. It was short, tight, and bright red.

"Why not?" Adrienne wondered. "It's cute."

"I would rather not look like a...a..."

"A slut?"

Theo blushed a bit. "I didn't want to say it..."

"I know. That's why _I_ said it."

"Do you have something a little less revealing?"

"Probably. Hang on." Adrienne turned around and looked through her closet again. "You're sure you want to go, right? I know how much you don't like gatherings like this."

"I'll be fine. I might as well go at least once before we graduate, you know?"

"Uh-huh...and I assume you also only wanted Philip to go so the whole squad would be there, and not because you like him, right?"

Now, Theodosia Burr Jr. was often perceived as intelligent just because of how smooth and clear her speech patterns were. This was simply caused by her father teaching her to thoroughly think about what she said before she said it. So, that's exactly what she did.

"Exactly."

"Hmm...okay..." Adrienne pulled a different dress out of her closet. It was fairly simple in style; long sleeves and a skirt that went down to just above the knee. It was a soft, purple velvet, and shined a bit in the light. "How's this?" Theo took the dress and held it against herself, making sure is was the right size.

"It's just right."

"Alright, Goldilocks," Adrienne snorted, heading to her bedroom door. "Try it on, why don't you?"

"Alright." Adrienne stepped out and closed the door behind her. She found her brother in the kitchen, texting someone.

"Bonjour, twin," they said at once, something they had done since they were little.

"What's up?" Adrienne asked.

"The ceiling," Georges replied without missing a beat. Adrienne rolled her eyes.

"Who're you texting? You got a daaaate?"

"Ha. I wish. I'm in the chat." The first thing the kids had done when they all had phones was start a group chat. It had quickly become their main form of communication and their source of spicy memes. Adrienne had put her phone on silent while she was helping Theo, so she got all the day's events from Georges. "Philip convinced Stephen to go to homecoming, but we all apparently owe him, now."

"Figures. He never wants to do anything fun."

"I'm sure he'll be d'accord. Theo is right. If we're all together, we'll have a nice time." Adrienne nodded. "Hey...have you noticed anything... _off_ about him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you know Stephen. He's always speaking his mind about everything."

"Yeah...and?"

"He's been...holding back, lately. Like, he'll start saying something, an opinion or something, but then, he'll just...stop talking or say 'nevermind'."

"Huh. That's...weird..."

"Yeah. I want to ask him about it, but-"

"Adrienne," Theo called, "can you help me with this, please?"

"Hold that thought," Adrienne told her brother, hurrying to get back to her room. Theo had the dress mostly on, but still needed to zip up the back of it. Adrienne helped her, then swiftly looked her over and smiled.

"Does it look good?" Theo shook the skirt a bit.

"You look very nice, Theo. You could use a few accessories, and maybe a little makeup, and we'll have to do something with your hair, but we'll cross those bridges when we get to them."

"But it looks good, right?"

"Since when do you care about how you look to others?"

"I...I don't. I just..." Theo blushed.

"Give me your phone." Theo had neatly folded her clothes and placed them on Adrienne's bed, her phone right on top. She handed it to Adrienne, who snapped a picture of her. "There. You can decide whether or not you look good." Theo looked at the picture and blushed harder.

"Alright. I look...alright. Should I send it in the chat-"

"No, no, no, no, no."

"Why not?"

"You have to keep it a surprise."

"Why?"

Adrienne wasn't about to say that it was because Philip would freak out, so she instead said, "Because. Now, come on. Let's look for some jewelry, yeah?"

"Ugh. Fine."


	6. Chapter 6

Philip had forgotten that he had to wear a suit to homecoming. He wished he had remembered, because it was absolutely frustrating.

"No, Philip, that one's too small." Stephen pulled the jacket away from Philip and put it back on the rack.

"I'm probably only going to wear it once," Philip groaned. "Why does it matter?"

"It's a formal occasion. You _have_ to look good. Whether you care about that or not."

"But-"

"You have to look good for Theo, too." Philip froze.

"Fine." Philip helped Stephen sift through the clothes on the rack, trying to find the right size. "Since when do you care about something like this?"

"Do you want to know how many fancy business dinners I've been forced to go to? 'Cause it's a lot." Stephen held up a different jacket. "Try this one. Go change." Philip grabbed the clothes that had been chosen and went into the dressing room.

Philip wasn't very familiar with nice clothing like this. His parents wore them sometimes, and his father had to wear them more often for work, but Philip himself couldn't remember the last time he had worn something formal, or if he had ever worn any at all.

He didn't realize how long he had been looking at himself in the mirror until Stephen called out, "Dude, hurry up!" Philip blinked and slowly and awkwardly stepped out of the room. Stephen was standing there with a hand in his pocket, staring at his phone.

"How do I look?" Philip asked.

Stephen glanced up, then down, then up again. He looked Philip over for a split second longer than needed and stated, "You look fine."

"Just fine?"

Stephen turned back down to his phone. "Yeah. Can we go, now?"

"Not until you admit that I look absolutely stunning." Philip struck a silly pose. Stephen raised an eyebrow at him.

"No."

"Come on. You know you like this." Philip jokingly winked. Stephen swallowed hard.

"Hurry up, will you?" As he went back to his phone, Stephen muttered, "I can't deal with this today..."

Philip frowned, but went back into the changing room. When he came out again a few minutes later, Stephen grabbed his suit and started walking away with out a word.

"Hey, dude, what's going on with you?" Philip asked.

Stephen didn't even look at his friend when he spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ever since school started up again you've been acting weird. You won't talk as much. It's like you're on a new level of not caring about things. A _bad_ level."

"Nothing's wrong. Chill, Phil."

"But-don't call me that." Stephen just smirked and quickened his pace a bit. "Hey, but seriously, something's up with you. We've all noticed it." Stephen seemed to perk up at that.

"I have no clue what you've noticed, but I'm fine. Nothing's different. Nothing's wrong."

"I just want to help..." Something flashed in Stephen's eyes. It was only there for a second, but it was enough to make Philip go quiet.

"There's nothing you can help with. Just drop it."

"D'ac..."

"Come on," Stephen sighed. "Let's hurry up and buy your stuff. I don't want to be here anymore."

* * *

Philip couldn't dance very well. He wasn't sure if he would need to for a school dance, but he subconsciously wanted to know how. Who better to ask for help than the one person he knew who took classes for multiple types of dance? AKA his sister.

"Angie?" Philip called out, knocking on his sister's bedroom door.

"What?" Angie yelled back.

"I need your help."

"Ugh..." Philip heard footsteps on the other side of the door, then it opened, revealing his little sister. She was in 7th grade, now, and was only as tall as Philip's chest. She had long, straight, dark brown hair, and dark brown, slightly almond-shaped eyes. "What do you want?"

"Um..." Philip blushed and fiddled with his fingers. "How do you dance?"

"Well."

"Well, yeah, but how do _I_ dance?"

"Not well."

"I mean...can you teach me how to dance?" Angie's glare softened.

"Oh. You could have just asked, hermano." Angie smirked and opened her door wider, letting Philip inside. "So, what kind of dance? Ballet, ballroom, or contemp-"

"Ballroom."

"D'accord. That isn't too difícil." Philip couldn't help but smile at his sister's mixing of languages. She did so much more often than he did, and sometimes even more than Adrienne or Georges. The theory that had been made about this was that she thought too fast to translate everything in her head into English. It was easier for her to simply let the words that she knew slip out of her mouth before her thoughts got away. Angie's quick thinking was a part of her extremely high intelligence, along with her ability to learn things faster than normal, and her place in a math class three years above her peers.

"I'm probably going to fall over, anyway," Philip said, chuckling slightly.

"You'll be fine," Angie waved him off as she cleared her floor off. "I'll just teach you the movimientos básicos, since you don't have time for anything else."

"Yeah...homecoming is tomorrow night..."

"Yet, you ask me for aide today."

"Yeah..."

"Whatever." Angie waved it off. "Vámonos. Give me your hands." Philip held out his arms, and Angie took them. She pulled one of Philip's hands until it was on one of her hips and placed her hand on his shoulder. She held his other hand out to the side.

"Now what?"

"Now, you dance." Without waiting for Philip to prepare himself, Angie began to take steps. Philip was forced to follow her movements to avoid falling over. Angie repeatedly counted to four in French as she showed her brother the steps. Eventually, Philip figured out the simple pattern, and was dancing with mediocre skills. That was good enough for him, and also Angie, apparently. "Can we be done now?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure." Philip had barely finished speaking before Angie stepped away from him and wiped her hands on her pants, muttering something in Spanish about Philip being weird and sweaty. Philip scoffed jokingly. "Your face is weird and sweaty."

Angie smirked at him. "When was the last time you looked in a mirror?"

"Shut up!" Philip giggled. They both laughed for a moment, before Philip started to head towards the door. "Thanks for helping, Angie."

"De nada." She smiled kindly at him. "Now, get out of my room."


	7. Chapter 7

**TW: homophobic slurs**

Philip had been hoping he wouldn't have to deal with this again until he went to college, but he was sorely disappointed.

"Dad, seriously," Philip whined. "Stop with the pictures."

"But you're so handsome!" Philip rolled his eyes as his dad took a few more pictures on his phone. Apparently, Philip in a suit was the greatest thing in the world to his parents. To Philip himself, however, the suit just made him uncomfortable. "I'm sending all of these to your father."

"I'm sure Pops won't appreciate that."

"I'm sure he would."

Outside, a car honked. The unmistakable voice of Georges shouted, "Get in, loser, we're going shopping!" Philip rolled his eyes but hurried out before his dad could take anymore pictures. Outside was a sleek, black car that belonged to Stephen, and leaning out the passenger side window was Georges. "Oh, qu'il est beau!"

"Merci, Georges," Philip chuckled, rolling his eyes for probably the third time in the past five minutes.

As he got in the car, Stephen said, "Georges, for the love of God, get your ass back in the car, or I will make sure you fall out." Georges sat back down with a fake pout that Stephen ignored as he started driving.

"So," Georges turned around to face Philip, "are you excited?"

"No," Stephen stated.

"I didn't ask you."

"Well, you weren't very specific."

Georges sighed. "Philip, are _you_ excited?"

Philip shrugged. "Not really."

"What? Why not?"

"Because homecoming is lame."

"And stupid,"Stephen added.

"And pointless."

"And-"

"I get it," Georges interrupted. "But you two need to be more optimistic."

"Did you literally just tell a pessimist to be optimistic?"

"Je suis désolé, mais tu dois-"

"I don't know what you're saying."

"You have to at least try to enjoy yourselves."

"I would have been enjoying myself at home with my friend," Stephen shot a glare at Philip through the rear view mirror, "but instead, I have to deal with this bullshit."

"Sorry," Philip muttered.

Guys, s'il vous plaît," Georges begged.

Stephen groaned as he pulled up to the school, dropping his head on the steering wheel. "Fine. Whatever. Fine. I hate you, but fine."

"We're sorry-"

"Nope. No. It's fine. Let's just get this over with." Stephen got out of the car, already taking out his phone to busy himself. Georges and Stephen shared a look of worry and stress before they followed their friend out.

The dance was held in the school gym. The only lights in the room were the colorful ones that flashed with the music, which was currently an old Britney Spears song. Streamers and balloons lined the walls and ceiling, and a table was in the corner, covered with food and drinks. The gym was crowded, being filled with hundreds of 'dancing' teenagers, with more still walking in. Philip, Georges, and Stephen stayed together, attempting to avoid everyone else for a while.

"The girls will be here soon," Georges explained over the loud music. "Adrienne just had to help Theo get ready, apparently." So, they waited. They waited through two and a half awful songs before Georges called out, "Adrienne! Theo! Over here!" Philip turned to greet the girls, but his mind went blank upon seeing Theo.

She was dressed in a simple, purple velvet dress, black flats, and a pearl pendant on a thin, gold chain around her neck. Her hair was in a complicated braid, aside from the strands by her ears that had been curled. She wore, basic, minimal makeup on her eyes, lips, and nails, but...still. She was gorgeous. Philip nearly said "Woah" out loud.

Stephen nudged Philip, forcing him to take a step forward. He stumbled over his feet and almost fell, but quickly righted himself, trying to act casual. "Uh, hey, Theo."

"Hello, Philip," Theo responded. "You look nice."

Philip blushed, but it was hopefully obscured by the colorful lights. "Uh, thanks. You look nice tonight, too. I mean, that's not to say you don't always look nice. I mean, I'm not saying-"

"Thank you, Philip." Theo grinned at him, and he smiled awkwardly in return.

Just then, like a gift from the heavens, _Don't Stop Believing_ began to play throughout the room to save Philip from this embarrassment. The twins freaked out, cheering and running into the crowd to dance. Theo glanced back at Stephen, but the boy gestured for her and Philip to go ahead. Stephen gave Philip a thumbs-up as he was dragged away.

Philip and Theo danced with each other for a while (it was more just jumping around and raising their arms in certain directions), talking, laughing, and generally having a better time than they expected.

And then, a slow song began to play. Many of the kids in the room began to pair up with their date, while most of the single people moved to the sides of the room. Philip started to walk towards the bleachers, but Theo suddenly grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Theo asked.

"Uh, well, you know-"

"Let's dance."

Philip gaped at her. "But we aren't-"

"So? We can still dance." Philip flushed pink as Theo took his hand and pulled him back into the crowd. They stood as if they were going to ballroom dance, but Theo just began to sway like all the other couples did.

"I thought you said we were going to dance," Philip said after a moment.

"Well, we could, but you don't know how, right?" Theo smirked.

"Actually, I do know the basic steps now."

"Oh, really, now?"

"Yup." Philip smiled proudly.

"Okay, then, hot stuff." Philip blushed harder at the nickname. "Show me what you've got."

They began to dance. They moved slowly at first, both being afraid of Philip tripping or stepping on Theo's toes. As they began to move faster, the rest of the world melted away, and all Philip could see was Theo's smiling face. It was like one of those cliché romantic movie scenes where the world turned into shining colors like pink or blue, but it was real. It was real and oh, so incredible. Philip stepped in time with Theo, who giggled as they spun together.

And then the colorful, happy background shattered when Philip bumped into somebody. He separated from Theo, turning around to apologize, then realized what exactly he had done. The person he had bumped into was George Eacker, the school's famous asshole, and he was very pissed off. Upon bumping into him, Philip had caused George to spill part of a soda on himself, staining his shirt.

"Shit..." Philip muttered. "Shit, I'm sorry, George." Eacker didn't seem to notice the apology, as he was too busy glaring at Philip.

"Of course the fucking fag did this," George growled at Philip. The crowd around them parted, sensing something bad. Philip glared right back at George.

"Hey, don't say-"

"Oh, did I offend you?"

"Yes, actually, you did." Philip stepped forward against his better judgment.

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to mess with me, fag."

"I'm not even-what's your deal?"

"What's my deal?" George stepped closer and pointed at his stained shirt. "Look at what you did."

"Maybe you deserve it."

"Maybe you," George shoved Philip backwards, "deserve to get locked in a dumpster." Theo caught Philip before he fell over.

"Really? Because _you're_ the piece of trash here."

Theo put a hand on Philip's shoulder. "Philip, you're starting to sound like your father, and that's not a good thing." Philip brushed her hand away.

"You should really listen to your girlfriend, Hamilton," George said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Philip grumbled.

"Oh, is she too slutty for you?"

" _Excuse me?_ " Philip clenched his fists. It was one thing to make fun of his family, but to insult Theo was really crossing the line.

Theo herself was frozen in shock, so she was caught completely off guard when George grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. "Not too slutty for me." The second George's hand moved too far down Theo's backside, Philip launched himself at George, punching him in the face. Theo hurried back as the crowd went silent in surprise. George rubbed his cheek, staring daggers at Philip, who was stunned by his own actions. "You son of a bitch." Philip gasped when George poured the rest of his soda on his head. The cold liquid trickled through Philip's hair and clothes. George then threw the can at Philip's face, causing the metal to cut his forehead. "You're lucky I don't beat your ass right now," George sneered. "You get one chance to get out of here before I do." Philip glared at George, but Theo pulled him away before he could say anything.

As Theo led Philip away, she said, "Come on. Let's try to clean you up in the bathroom."

"What?" Philip gasped. "I can't just go into the girls' bathroom!"

"I know that. There's probably, like, five groups of girls in there. We're going to the boys' bathroom."

" _What?_ "

"What?"

"You can't go in there!"

"Too bad." Theo was already dragging Philip into the bathroom. She went unfazed as she passed by the urinals, although the boys at them squealed like terrified pigs. Philip was made to stand in place while Theo grabbed a bunch of paper towels. She watered them down a bit, then gently wiped them against Philip's face. Well, as gently as she could with this state of mind. "What the hell were you thinking, Philip?"

"'This guy's an asshole,' if I remember correctly."

"Philip."

"Yeah?"

"You can't just punch someone!" The sudden shout made Philip flinch.

"Sorry?"

"No. It wasn't even that you punched someone. You punched Eacker, of all people. And, as a bonus, you did it for...for a very stupid reason."

"I personally don't think it was a stupid reason."

Theo sighed. "Okay, fine, I understand why, for the most part, but you still punched someone. You could have gotten in a fight."

"So? My parents have gotten into fights over things like this before, especially my pops."

"Philip, he is an intelligent, adult lawyer. You are a somewhat intelligent child. You're going to ruin your life or-"

"Theo, you've been cleaning the same spot of my face for the past two minutes."

"Ugh!" Theo groaned and threw the wet paper towels at Philip's face. "You are impossible."

"Sorry," Philip quietly snickered.

"Whatever. Let's just go. This was a terrible idea."

"Wait, go? Go where?"

"I don't know. I'm tired. And hungry. Pizza? That place a couple blocks from here?"

"Oh. Um. Sure?"

"Cool. Come on, then." Theo was out of the bathroom before Philip could even comprehend their conversation.

When he caught up with her, Philip said, "Wait, I didn't bring any money."

"That's fine. I've got it covered."

"I'll pay you back, then-"

"Philip. Quiet."

"Yes, ma'am." Philip shut his mouth. The two of them left the school, ending up on the dark, cold streets of town. They walked in silence for a while, but it wasn't that awkward. Philip and his friends knew not to bother Theo when she needed peace and quiet. Theo had nearly stabbed Georges in the arm with a pencil once because he wouldn't shut up when she told him to. So, they walked in silence-

"Sorry for snapping like that," Theo suddenly said. "I'm not entirely sure what came over me."

"It's okay," Philip responded. "I don't know what came over me, either. Like, I was definitely pissed off, but I've never really punched someone before."

"I know, Philip."

"Okay."

They walked in silence again, until they got to the pizza place. There were only a few other people there, so it was fairly quiet. They went up to the counter and were greeted by a man who worked there.

"You two come from homecoming?" The man asked.

"Yeah," Philip said. "We just left early."

"I always hated homecoming," the man muttered. "You a couple, then?"

Philip was about to say no, when Theo said, "Yes." So, as Theo got two slices of pizza, Philip internally panicked, wondering what had happened in the past ten minutes to warrant this relationship. Theo led Philip to a small table, and when they sat down, Philip began to externally freak out, as well.

"Theo, what the heck?" Philip hissed. Theo just casually took a bite of pizza instead of answering. "We aren't dating-"

"Shh. Yes, we are." Theo emphasized her words as if Philip couldn't understand her.

"What are you talking about? We never-"

"Philip. Shut up."

"Why are you-"

" _Philip_." Theo subtly nodded towards a paper on the wall. It read: **_Couples Eat Free on Homecoming Night! One Slice Per Person._**

Philip relaxed. "Oh." Then, he freaked out again. "Wait, did you just dupe that guy?" Theo just shrugged and smirked, taking another bite of her unfairly free pizza. "Did Theodosia Burr Jr just cheat someone out of their money?"

"Shut up, Philip. You're going to blow our cover." Philip just laughed.

"Holy crap. I didn't think you were capable of something so evil. I love it."

"And I didn't think you were capable of punching someone like that."

"Hey, don't bring that up."

"Okay. How about we bring up your dancing, then, huh? That was pretty impressive."

"You-You think so?"

"Sure. Did your sister teach you?"

Philip blushed. "Maybe..."

"Well, you were certainly better at it than everyone else in there. They were just grinding up against each other and swaying back and forth. That's not even dancing."

"Yeah, I know! We were the only people doing it right." Theo giggled, making Philip go quiet.

"You know, tonight was actually pretty fun," Theo smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah, for the most part. I can't remember the last time we hung out, just the two of us. We should do it more often."

Philip flushed. "Y-Yeah. We should." Theo just smiled at him.

"Eat your pizza, Pip. I didn't essentially rob someone for nothing."

They laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

"You did _what?_ " John basically leapt off the couch, much to Alexander's dismay. He had just gotten home about five minutes earlier, and all he wanted to do was cuddle with his husband. Unfortunately, Philip had gotten home from homecoming early with some interesting news.

"I punched George Eacker in the face," Philip shyly repeated.

"I heard you the first time." John pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I can't even decide how much trouble you're going to be in, but it's going to be a lot."

"John, hang on." Alexander stood up and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm sure he had a good reason for doing this."

"He better."

"I do," Philip said. "He-He called me a faggot and he called Theo a slut and he grabbed her and tried to touch her. So I punched him." His parents went quiet.

"Oh." John cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, then. I, uh, I suppose you can get a little off the hook for that."

"A little?" Alex asked. "He's innocent!"

"Alex, you're still in lawyer mode."

"Sorry, but-"

"And this isn't a client. This is your son, who needs to be disciplined, regardless."

Alexander sighed and thought for a moment. "Ten days without hanging out with your friends, three days without your phone. We can talk about this more when I'm not exhausted."

"You're always exhausted, Pop," Philip said as he handed over his phone.

"When I'm less exhausted, then."

"Aright, Pops."

"And go take a shower. You're all sticky."

"I know, Pops."

"And-"

"I think he's got it, Honey," John interrupted. Philip nodded in exasperation. "Go ahead, Pip. And go straight to bed afterwards."

"Got it, Dad." Philip walked off, and John dropped back onto the couch when he did so.

"Jesus..." John muttered, rubbing his face. Alexander sat back down next to him, resting a hand on his knee.

"Are you okay, Babe?" Alex asked.

"I...I don't know. Philip's not."

"Philip's fine. I mean, he punched the kid that was doing all that stuff to him-"

"But he shouldn't have to do that in the first place, Alex. He shouldn't have to deal with people calling him things like that. His friends shouldn't have to deal with that either."

"It's not his fault-"

"Which makes it ours."

"No, John-"

"We basically just doomed his whole life by being together-"

"John-"

"He's going to get hurt because of us-"

" _John_ -"

"He's going to hate us when he's older-"

" _John!_ "

" _What?_ "

"Calm down."

"But-"

"It's okay. It'll be okay. Philip will be just fine. He loves us, even when we're super embarrassing."

"I highly doubt that one."

"Regardless. We'll all be alright. It's not Philip's-or our-fault that some people in the world are assholes. But we'll make it through, anyway. And, when Philip's older, he'll blow us all away by changing the world. And _that_ is what I'll let you blame yourself for."

John sighed. "Okay," he said quietly. Alexander smiled softly and gently patted John's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get to bed. I'm exhausted, and it's hard to sleep when you aren't with me."

John snorted as they stood up. "Says the guy who'll stay up until two in the morning working in his office, making it hard for _me_ to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just be happy I sleep with you at all."

"We both know that's not happening tonight," John laughed.

"Really?" Alexander hummed, wrapping his arms around John's waist. "Because _I_ have a differing opinion." John halted.

"Oh. So this _is_ happening tonight?" Alexander smirked and nodded, a dark look in his eyes. He grabbed John by the collar of his shirt, dragging him away until they disappeared into the bedroom together.

* * *

John loved his days off. He got to relax and do as he pleases for the day, whether that was reading, catching up on his favorite television shows, or just browsing through the Internet.

Unfortunately, John wasn't able to spend most of his days off with his family, like he wanted. Philip and Angie were usually in school, and Alexander barely ever got a day off. Still, it was nice to take a break from working now and then.

Of course, that wasn't to say he didn't love the animals he had to work with. The dolphins were so fun, and the turtles had always been his favorite animal, hence why he had two at home.

John had never really wanted any other pets. He had always adored turtles, and once he had them, his life felt just about complete. Eleanor and Shelly were the greatest pets in the world, and John couldn't live without them.

Still, he supposed another pet wouldn't be too bad.

That was how it started. On one of John's days off, he was making himself lunch, when he heard something scratching at the front door. At first, he assumed the noise was just caused by tree branches, but then he realized that there were no trees next to the front door. He put down his food and stood up, making his way to the entrance. Looking through the peep hole, John saw nothing but air. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he slowly opened the door.

He looked down and immediately cried out, "Puppy!" On the front porch was, indeed, a small golden retriever. It was holding a paw up as blood slowly dripped from it. When John noticed this, he frowned and said, "Hurt puppy. Hm." He hurried back to the kitchen, finding an apple and peanut butter. He cut the apple into slices, got a spoon for the peanut butter, and went back out to the dog. He fed it some food to gain its trust, then gently lifted the puppy's paw to inspect its injury. It had a small cut on its paw, but otherwise seemed fine. Well, now that John looked at the dog, he noticed that it was very dirty and skinny, the latter explaining why the animal was so gratefully eating the food that John had given it. It didn't have a collar, either. _A stray?_ John thought. _In a town like this?_

John took the puppy to the local veterinary office. The doctors cleaned the dog, gave it medicines, and stitched up the cut on its paw. They checked the animal for any identification chips, finding none. When they brought the dog back out, it looked much better, and seemingly happy to see John. It's tail was wagging, and it ran towards John, adorably stumbling a bit as it did so. John smiled and scratched the puppy behind its ears as a veterinarian talked to him.

"He's only a few months old," the vet explained. "We're pretty sure he's a stray, but we've sent out some messages on the town's social media just in case someone hoes looking for him. For now, he'll either need to stay in a shelter or get taken home by you. Of course, unless you have dogs already, you would have to buy a lot of supplies to take care of him."

"Yeah..." John looked down at the puppy, who barked excitedly at him. John sighed, "Okay."

* * *

Alexander was surprised at how early he was able to go home from work. The kids weren't even home from school yet. He smiled as he entered his house, calling out, "Honey, I'm home- _AH! What the fuck?!_ " Alexander nearly fell over when a furry, yellow monster sprinted towards him and jumped up against his leg. John had run in at the sound of Alex's scream, but just began to laugh at the predicament in front of him. " _Stop laughing at me! Get it off!_ " John took a moment to compose himself before lifting the puppy into his arms. Alex leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath. "You know," he finally said, "I was hoping to _not_ get attacked when I got home."

"He's a puppy," John snickered as the dog nipped at his hands.

"I can see that, now," Alexander sighed. "But what I don't understand is why it- _he_ is in our house."

"He was hurt, showed up on our doorstep, and didn't have an owner. But he does now!" John smiled widely.

"That's what I was afraid of," Alexander muttered. "John, we can't have a dog."

"Why not?"

"We don't have the time."

"Yes, we do. All four of us. Collectively."

"We don't have room, then."

"Philip's going to college in a couple years. We'll definitely have room while he's out."

"Dios mío..." Alex massaged his temples. He stared at John, then the dog, then John, then the dog. He groaned. "You're lucky you're so cute."

"Me or the dog?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Did you already get food and stuff for him?"

"Yes."

"And you promise you'll take the responsibilities?"

"Yes."

"...Fine."

"Yes!" John set the puppy down, then gave Alexander a tight hug and a myriad of kisses all over his face.

"You're such a child," Alex chuckled, kissing his husband in return.

And then the kids screamed from the front entryway. Their parents went over to them, finding them petting the puppy.

"We got a dog," John explained.

"I can see that," Philip said.

"It's my turn to name a pet," Angie stated.

"Okay. What do you want to name him?" John asked.

"Wait, it's a boy? I was going to name it Angélica el tercio..."

"Well, you're probably going to have to pick something else, then."

Angie thought for a moment. "Samuel."

"Samuel?" Philip scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"Oui, like Samuel Adams. American statesman, political philosopher, and founding father of the United States."

"And a great beer," John added. Alexander lightly slapped his arm.

"Seriously, _Samuel?_ " Philip repeated.

"You named a tortuga _Shelly_."

"I was, like, five."

"It's my turn, anyway, stupide."

"Did you just call me- _ew!_ " Everyone looked down to see that the newly named Samuel the puppy was peeing on the floor.

"Oops," John mumbled. "I forgot he wasn't house trained, yet."

"You get to clean it," Alex said, patting John on the back. John frowned.

"I hate responsibility."

* * *

 ** _My dog speaks more eloquently than thee~_**


	9. Chapter 9

**While we're talking about pets...**

Gil, Georges, and Adrienne had a cat. She was a plump, brown tabby with green eyes. She was about nine years old and enjoyed eating sardines. Her name was Antoinette.

Gil, Georges, and Adrienne had this cat, but Hercules didn't. Anytime Hercules was forced to talk about this cat, he would always say "my husband's cat" rather than "my cat". He didn't want the damn thing.

See, Hercules Mulligan _hated_ cats. He saw them as vicious beasts and assholes. He refused to say he was afraid of them, no matter how much Gil insisted that he was. No, he just hated felines and everything they stood on four legs for.

Sure, Hercules had gotten Antoinette, but it had only been for Gil. It was their tenth anniversary, and Herc needed to give Gil something special. So, he came home with a box in his arms, holding it as far away from him as possible.

"What is this?" Gil had asked when he saw the box.

"Your, uh, anniversary gift," Herc said.

"Aw, chéri, you didn't have to get me anything." Gil smiled softly.

"Just open it, please."

Gil rolled his eyes and giggled. He lifted the lid off the box and gasped excitedly. " _Chaton!_ " Gil squealed and reached into the box, pulling out the small, furry kitten. Hercules stepped back, focusing on how happy Gil looked instead of the monster he was holding.

Ever since that day, Gil had been attached to Antoinette as if she was the best thing to happen to him.

One day, Hercules woke up the second time his alarm went off. He rolled over in bed, ending up facing Gil's back. He smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist.

"Good morning," Herc said quietly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh-huh."

"You have to get up for work, soon."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm working at home today."

"Uh-huh."

Hercules paused. He knew something was up when he got the same, bland answer three times in a row. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Make that four.

Hercules sat up a bit to look at his husband's face, only to have his eyes catch on something else. In front of Gil, curled up in a ball and purring quietly, was Antoinette. Gil was smiling as he pet her, all of his focus being taken up by the animal. Hercules' arms tightened around his husband, prepared to protect him from the little beast. Hercules scowled at her, but she was asleep, so she didn't notice.

"Would you like to pet her?" Gil asked.

"No, actually," Herc sternly replied. "I wouldn't."

"Why are you so scared of her?"

"I'm not-I'm not scared. I just don't like her, and she doesn't like me, so I'm not going to pet her."

Gil sighed. "She's not a bad cat, you know."

"She hissed at me when you made me give her a treat."

"You threw it at her because you didn't want to get closer than four feet away."

"Well...she was swishing her tail all over and I felt threatened."

"So, you were scared."

"Yea-no!"

Gil laughed. He gently lifted Antoinette and rolled over, placing her next to Hercules. Herc moved back as far as he could, trying to avoid the waking cat. Her light green eyes opened, landing on Hercules.

"She's looking at me," Hercules said in a strained voice.

"That's how sight works, chéri."

Hercules stared at Antoinette, who stared right back at him. She didn't blink or move. "I'm going to make breakfast," Hercules suddenly said, scrambling out of bed, being careful not to disturb the cat.

Hercules hurried to the kitchen and began to make breakfast for his family. The twins left their rooms at the same time, and Georges handed Adrienne a beanie that complimented her outfit. Hercules poured them coffee in matching mugs, and the kids took them gratefully. Gil walked into the kitchen a minute later, wearing a dress shirt and jeans. He fixed his hair, then took his cup of coffee from Herc, all while Antoinette meowed loudly.

"Oh, je suis desole, mon chaton," Gil cooed, picking up his pet. He coddled her like a baby, giving her dozens of kisses. Hercules bit the inside of his cheek. "Adrienne, chéri, could you feed Antoinette, please?"

"Oui, Papa." Adrienne found the cat food and filled the cat's bowl. Hercules was upset when his husband insisted on buying the fancy cat food for his pet. Unfortunately, Gil had a strong resolve.

Gil was so focused on watching the cat that he didn't even notice when his own food was set on the table. "Gil," Hercules said, "I made you eggs." Gil finally looked over.

"Oh, thank you, amour." Gil still gazed at Antoinette as he ate.

"A cat can't make you food," Herc grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Okay..." Gil raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else.

After breakfast, the family finished getting ready, then Gil and the kids had to leave. Hercules was home alone.

Or so he thought.

As Hercules walked past the couch, he heard a weird noise coming from it. He looked over the back of the couch, finding Antoinette rolling around on it. She suddenly froze and stared up at Herc with wide eyes. Hercules grew very uncomfortable, and backed away.

He really, really hated that cat.

Hercules went to the room he called his studio, where he spent hours designing outfits, cutting and sewing fabric, and adjusting it on his mannequin. He had made the basic form of a dress by the time he wanted lunch. He left the room, going to the kitchen to make something for himself to eat. Unfortunately, Antoinette was there to ruin his plans again.

Herc left a cup of water on the table as he made himself a can of soup. All of a sudden, he heard a splash and a thud behind him. He turned around, seeing Antoinette sitting on the table, and his cup on the floor, water spilled everywhere. Hercules grumbled, glared at the cat, then cleaned up the mess. He was lucky the cup wasn't glass. When he stood up again, Antoinette was gone. Hercules sighed in relief until he heard a small slurping noise. He looked around until he saw Antoinette eating out of his bowl of soup. Hercules scowled, balling his fists. He found oven mitts, then cautiously picked Antoinette up, dropping her on the floor. She slinked away, leaving Hercules to make himself a new lunch.

After he ate, Hercules went back to his studio, not really realizing that he had left the door open. When he walked in, he just about screamed in frustration. Antoinette was in there, scratching the dress that Herc had begun to make. The fabric was full of holes.

Hercules chased the cat out of the room, angrily scrapped the dress, then stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him this time. He gave up on working for a while, instead going to the living room, sitting down and watching television to distract himself.

It didn't take very long for him to fall asleep.

* * *

When Hercules woke up from his nap, he felt something heavy on his stomach. He looked down, then panicked. Antoinette was curled up on top of him, sleeping. Hercules was paralyzed. He didn't know what to do. He just stared at the cat for a while. After a few minutes if not getting injured, Hercules began to think that Antoinette wasn't that bad. She actually looked kind of cute. Hesitantly, Hercules reached out to her, wondering what his husband had been talking about all these years. Herc gently touched Antoinette's back, but she woke up. Hercules panicked again, but then realized that Antoinette didn't do anything.

After a moment, Hercules tried petting her again. Antoinette rolled over a bit as he pet her back and leaned against his hand when he rubbed her head. She began to purr. _This is...actually kind of nice,_ Herc thought. He pet Antoinette for a few minutes, beginning to come around.

Then, out of nowhere, she bit him. Hercules freaked out, pushing her off of him and onto the floor. She hurried away as Herc rubbed at his totally not an injury.

Gil and the kids came back home just a few minutes later. The kids went to their rooms to work on homework while Gil went over to Hercules, sitting down next to him and hugging him. He kissed Herc on the cheek, asking him how his day was.

"I hate your cat," Hercules responded.

"I know," Gil sighed. "But she's really not that bad."

"She's terrible!" Hercules argued. "And you love her more than me."

Gil blinked. "What?"

"You love that stupid cat more than you love me," Hercules muttered. Gil began to laugh. "What?"

"Are you joking me, Hercules?" Gil giggled. "You seriously think I love a chat more that you?" Herc shrugged.

"Yeah, kinda. You always focus on her more than me."

"Hercules, chéri, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say."

"Wha-"

"If I loved cats more than you, I would have married one. But I married you, yes? And I was completely happy with you and our family without a cat. I knew you didn't want one, so I respected that to keep you happy. But you got one for me anyway, because you wanted _me_ to be happy, which is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Every time I see Antoinette, she reminds me of how much you love me and I love you."

"Really?" Hercules quietly asked.

"Yes, Hercules. Of course it is."

"Oh. Well then. Okay." Herc smiled slightly. Gil snickered and kissed his husband.

"I really love you."

"I love you, too."

"You really have no need to be afraid of her, you know."

"I'm not afraid of cats!"

Gil rolled his eyes. "Sure, you aren't."

* * *

 **1\. Finals suuuuck. So I haven't written in a while.**

 **2\. Oddly enough, I'm a cat person.**

 **3\. This chapter is traaash.**


	10. Chapter 10

Yes, Stephen was in choir, and, no, he didn't enjoy it. He had only joined because the rest of his friends were in it. He didn't care if they said he had a good singing voice. He didn't care if the teacher said he had one of the best baritone voices she had heard from a high schooler. He didn't care about any of the dumb people in the class who wouldn't be quiet when they were supposed to. And he especially didn't care about Mary Jefferson.

Mary had joined choir not long after he had, because she enjoyed being a stalker, apparently. That wasn't enough for her, however. Every single day, she would bother him incessantly. On the day before the concert, in the middle of class, Mary walked halfway across the room to sit next to Stephen. It was extremely unfortunate that the person he sat next to was sick that day.

"Hi, Stephen," Mary cooed, scooting her chair closer to him. Stephen sighed heavily, picking up his book and beginning to read it. Mary just moved closer. "What are you reading?" Stephen held his book up higher, but Mary didn't bother reading the cover. "Are you sure you won't come to my party?"

Stephen sighed again. He wished he could look to his friends for help, but all of them were talking to the teacher about French pronunciations. Stephen only knew English, unfortunately. Also, he knew Mary wouldn't just leave him alone because she's being ignored. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm not going."

"Why not?" Mary whined.

"Because I hate you."

"No, you don't." Mary touched Stephen's arm. Stephen flinched away.

"Yes, I do. You're awful."

"Oh, stop playing hard to get."

"Oh, my god..." Stephen closed his book and looked at Mary. "Do you legitimately think I like you? Or even might possibly like you at some point?"

Mary shrugged. "Well, sure. Not many people can resist someone like me." She flipped her hair as Stephen glared at her.

"You're such a prissy idiot. Why can't you get it through your thick skull that I don't and will never like you?"

"Why are you so mean?" Mary pouted. "You'll never get a girlfriend if you keep acting like that."

Stephen's face flushed a bit. He covered it with a scowl and buried his face in his book again.

Mary crossed her arms. "You can't get a girl by ignoring them all, either."

Stephen stood up and walked away, blocking out Mary's whines. Stephen silently stood next to his friends at the front of the room, who understood what was wrong just by looking at him. When he glanced back, Stephen saw that Mary was grumpily sitting in his chair, waiting for his return. He tried not to puke.

* * *

The concert actually went pretty well, surprisingly. With the assistance of Philip, Theo, Adrienne, and Georges, the French song actually sounded good. The solos in one of the songs sounded nice, even Mary's. Of course, Stephen and his friends thought Philip's solo was significantly better.

"It wasn't that good!" Philip argued, blushing.

"Yes, it was," Theo said yet again. Philip blushed more.

"You've got some strong lungs," Adrienne said. She nudged Theo and winked.

"Adrienne!" Both Philip and Theo were blushing, now.

Just then, all their parents found them, giving them hugs and congratulating them on a good concert. Philip's parents were playfully arguing about who Philip got his singing voice from. The twins' parents were complimenting how well they taught the class the French pronunciations in the song. Theo and her dad quietly talked about what went well in the concert and what didn't. Meanwhile, Stephen's parents excitedly fawned over him.

"You did so well!" Stephen's Mum cheered, clapping a few times.

"You couldn't even hear my voice," Stephen shrugged.

"Well, you were at least singing," his Mom said. She was still wearing her suit from work, which she had left early from. "That's better than some of the other kids we saw."

"Heh. Good point."

The whole lot of them started to head out of the school. However, as they did, Stephen heard something: crying around the corner. Stephen slowed to a stop, looking in the direction of the noise. It was quiet, so his friends and family were confused as to why he had stopped.

"Um...you can go on ahead," Stephen said. "I'll be there in a minute." Without another word, he started to walk towards the crying.

Before he even walked five feet, Stephen felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Philip; their other friends stood behind him. "We heard it, too," Philip said. "We're coming with." Stephen just nodded and moved forward again.

They didn't have to walk very far to see who was crying. When they did, Stephen muttered, "Goddammit."

Mary was sitting on a bench, covering her face as she cried. Stephen sighed and started to walk away, but Philip stopped him by shaking his head. Always kind Georges stepped forward and sat next to Mary.

"Mary? What's wrong?" Georges asked her. Mary scooted away.

"I'm fine," she said through her sobs. "Leave me alone."

"Mary-"

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you."

"I...okay..." Georges, defeated, stood and went back over to his friends.

"Well, we tried," Stephen said, trying to walk away again. However, he froze when he realized that all his friends were staring at him. "What?" Philip nodded towards Mary. "No."

"You're the only person she'd want to talk to," Philip stated.

"That doesn't mean _I_ want to."

"I know, but look at her. We can't just leave her like this."

Stepgen looked back at Mary for a moment. Philip was right, he supposed. Stephen stared up at the ceiling and groaned loudly before begrudgingly moving towards Mary. He knelt in front of her and simply asked, "What's wrong?"

Mary looked up, but her glare softened when she saw who was in front of her. Her mascara was surprisingly not running with her tears. "I...it's nothing."

"Yeah, obviously not. Why are you crying?"

Mary sniffed and wiped her eyes. "My parents didn't show up to the concert. I told them I had a solo and everything, but they were too busy working."

Stephen frowned a bit. Even he felt bad, now. He understood what it was like to have a parent not be there for something special because of work. He got up and sat on the bench next to Mary, still surprised that he was doing this. He sighed before speaking. "You know, I'm sure they wanted to come. It's just that they have jobs that they have to go to as soon they're needed."

"I...I know...but...still..."

"I know. I get it." They were quiet for a moment. Mary hugged Stephen. Stephen didn't push her away.

"My friends left, already," Mary muttered. "Do you think you could-"

"Georges and Adrienne can take you home. They're your cousins."

"Second cousins."

"Whatever." Stephen stood and got out of Mary's grasp. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards the exit. As he passed his friends, he growled, "Not a word about this."

He left with his head hanging.


	11. Chapter 11

To say the least, Philip and his friends were shocked when Georges arrived at the lunch table, saying, "I've decided to go to the party."

Stephen actually looked up from his phone. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

" _Stephen_ ," Theo chastised.

"Nothing is wrong with me," Georges responded to Stephen. "I just want to go."

"You are such an idiot."

"I'm sorry, but I think it would be fun."

"Seriously? It's Mary's party."

"Yes, it is. She invited us, so it would be impolite not to go."

"She just wants me to be there."

"You don't have to go," Theo mentioned.

"Yeah," Georges agreed. "I can go on my own just fine."

"Well," Adrienne put in, "if Georges is going, then I'm going."

"Are you kidding?" Stephen clenched his phone tightly in his hand.

"We go everywhere together."

Stephen rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you."

"You do know that it's okay if they go, right?" Theo asked.

"You're agreeing with them?"

"You're taking this as a personal offense."

"It _is_ a personal offense."

"Stephen-"

"Dude, calm down," Philip said. "It's just a party."

"It's _her_ party." Stephen hit the table with his hand.

"So?" Georges retorted.

"So all my friends are against me all of a sudden." Stephen stood up from the table and stormed off.

"Stephen," Theo called out after him, but he was already gone. Philip swore quietly and hurried to follow his friend.

Philip found Stephen in the bathroom, leaning against the wall in the corner. His arms were crossed, and he was glaring at the floor. Philip was glad no one else was in there.

"Dude, what the hell?" Philip asked.

Stephen didn't even look up. "Fuck off."

"Why are you so pissed about this?" Philip stepped closer. "Usually with something like this, you'd just say 'whatever' and ignore it."

"Fuck. Off."

"Talk to me, man. Why are you taking this so hard?"

"You know why."

"Yeah, yeah, because it's Mary's party. You do know that the twins are only going because it's a party, right? That's why most people go to high school parties. They don't care about Mary."

Stephen tightened his arms around himself and didn't respond.

"We aren't teaming up with Mary or anything, and we aren't necessarily teaming up against you. We just think it's fine if Georges wants to go to a _party_. It's not that bad. We don't get what's so bad about that."

Stephen didn't speak for a while, then quietly said, "I told you to fuck off."

"Jesus Christ..." Philip muttered. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine. Fine. Whatever. Be like that." Philip turned and left Stephen in the bathroom.

"I don't know how to make him calm down," Philip said when he returned to the rest of his friends.

Theo sighed and gently patted Philip's shoulder. "I'm sure he just needs time."

"There's something going on with him, though. I feel like it doesn't have to do with Mary." Philip held his head in his hands. Theo lightly rubbed his back.

"We're all worried about him," Georges assured.

"But," Adrienne added, "he won't tell us what's wrong unless he wants to."

"I know," Philip mumbled. Even when the bell rang and everyone left, Philip stayed where he was.

* * *

Stephen didn't talk to any of them for almost an entire day. In fact, none of his friends saw him again until the next day's first hour government class. Georges attempted to talk to Stephen, but Stephen didn't even look at him. Philip did not try. But Mary did.

"Hello, boys!" She said cheerfully as she pranced over to them at the end of class. "Hello, Stephen." Stephen did not look up. "Are you sure you aren't coming to my party?"

"Well, Adrienne and I think we might go," Georges said.

Mary's mind seemed to pause, as she just blinked with a blank stare on her face. Suddenly, her face broke into a wide, fake smile. "That's great! Will any of your other friends be joining you?" Mary gave Stephen a pointed glance.

"Um...it doesn't seem like it."

Mary scowled a bit and sighed. She turned to Stephen with her hands on her hips. "Why don't you want to come?" Stephen still just stared ahead. "It's just a party. I'm trying to be nice by inviting you."

Stephen finally reacted with a quiet but frustrated, "Can you please just go bother someone else?"

"But I want to talk to you," Mary pouted.

"I actually have less money than you do. Go find someone more fitting for your needs. Hell, go find Eacker. He'd at least be interested."

Mary scoffed. "Ew. No."

"Why not? You be perfect for each other other, personality wise."

Mary clenched her fists at her sides. Stephen smirked, proud of himself, until Mary muttered, "He's a homophobe, dumbass." Stephen's smile fell.

"Right. Sorry."

Mary huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever. I don't even care if you come anyway."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Bye." Stephen waved Mary away, who stammered, then stormed off. Stephen buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. He didn't respond when his friends tried to talk to him again.


	12. Chapter 12

Philip and Angie went to see their aunts twice a month. Well, their aunt Eliza was their surrogate mother, but they didn't call her that. So, aunt it was. She and their aunt Angelica lived together in a nice house not far from the hospital, as Eliza was a obstetrician.

John dropped the kids off at their aunts' house on Saturday, and Philip immediately began searching the kitchen cabinets.

"What are you looking for?" Eliza asked, fully knowing what Philip was looking for.

"I know you have cookies in here somewhere," Philip muttered.

"Mhm." Eliza just stood behind the counter, where the plate of fresh cookies were waiting out in the open. Philip huffed and turned around in frustration, then gasped when he saw the cookies. Half of one was already in his mouth by the time Eliza could ask, "How have you been, Dear?"

Philip-with quite a bit of cookie in his mouth-said something that sounded like "Okay, I guess."

"You guess?"

Philip swallowed and shrugged. "Things have been kind of stressful."

Eliza frowned. "How so?"

"Well, I mean..." Philip poked at the chocolate chips in his cookie. "Stephen and the twins keep telling me to ask Theo out," Philip muttered.

"Oh, really?" Eliza smirked. She was the only person that Philip would talk to about his massive crush on Theo.

"Yeah..."

"Well, why don't you?"

Philip's face began to burn. "I can't just do that."

"Why not?"

"Because it'd be pointless. She doesn't like me like that."

"How do you know?"

"Well...because we're just friends."

"Uh-huh."

"Besides, it wouldn't feel right with everything that's happening with Stephen right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Stephen's been acting weird and none of us know what to do about it."

"Weird how?"

"Well, Mary has been bothering him a lot more, but other than that he's just been really closed off and aggressive." Philip paused. "More than usual."

"Hm. This definitely seems like something to talk to Angelica about. She's the psychologist. I just help people give birth."

"Yeah, I know. But it's not like I even know enough about what's going on to tell her about it. Stephen won't tell any of us what's wrong."

"Well, what's going on with Mary?"

"Like I said, she's just been bothering Stephen more. She tries to talk to him everyday, now. He gets so stressed out and uncomfortable. But now, instead of ranting about her, he's just...quiet."

"That's certainly strange. For him, at least."

"Yeah. He also got really mad at Georges and Adrienne when they said they were going to go to Mary's party. He wouldn't listen when we said it wasn't a big deal because it was a party."

"Well, it is Mary we're talking about."

"I know. We shouldn't have gotten so pushy about it." Phillip ran a hand through his hair. "I feel bad, now. But... I just want him to feel better. I just want to help, but I don't know how."

"Are you doing that thing again?" Philip turned at Angelica's voice. She had just entered the house.

"What thing?"

" _The_ thing." Angelica walked over to the couch, where Angie was reading a large book, and kissed her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Angelica sighed. "You always do that thing where you help others more than yourself. It's usually fine, but you do it too much. You'll go too long just over exerting yourself for everyone else, worrying too much when it doesn't work like you want, and sending yourself in a dangerous spiral." Philip didn't say anything. "You get it from Eliza."

"I'm fine," Philip muttered, looking down and picking at his cookie.

"When was the last time you did something you wanted to do, regardless of what your friends wanted to do?" Philip stayed quiet. "You have to start doing things _you_ want to do and spend some time for yourself."

Philip picked at his fingernails. "I do."

"I think you should more."

"I'm fine."

"And I'm a psychologist."

Philip sighed. He didn't like getting called out for things like this. "Fine. Whatever," he grumbled.

"I'm ordering Chinese for dinner. What do you want?"

"Whatever." Philip was already taking out his phone and opening his messages, his finger hovering over Theo's name.


	13. Chapter 13

Theo didn't understand why everyone else thought AP biology was so difficult. The class was interesting and the homework was definitely manageable. That being said, Theo happily dropped her pencil when her phone whistled. It was Philip texting her, of course; she had recorded him whistling one day for the text tone.

 **Pip:** Hey you busy?

Theo looked down at her homework.

 **You:** Nope. What's up?

 **Pip:** Can I ask you something?

 **You:** Of course.

 **Pip:** Am I too nice?

 **You:** No. Have you forgotten that you punched Eacker in the face?

 **Pip:** Very funny. I don't mean Georges kind of nice.

 **You:** What do you mean?

 **Pip:** My aunt says I help too much and don't focus on myself enough. She says I only do things because my friends want to and not because I want to. Is that true?

Theo thought for a minute.

 **You:** Honestly, the only times I can think you did something on your own was when you helped one of us.

 **Pip:** Great

 **You:** But, that's not entirely a bad thing. You just need to find some time for yourself and whatnot. Do more things that *you* want to do.

 **Pip:** But I do want to do all the things that you guys ask me to do.

 **You:** Okay. My point still stands.

 **Pip:** Yeah yeah okay

 **You:** I hope you aren't too upset over this. It always feels like something is horribly wrong when you're upset.

 **Pip:** I'll be fine. Don't worry

Theo assumed the conversation was over. She started working on her homework again, until, five minutes later, when her phone whistled again.

 **Pip:** Do you want to go to the party with me?

Theo briefly wondered if there was any meaning to that.

 **You:** I'll ask my dad

Theo stood and left her room, looking for her father. The door to his office was closed, which meant he was working. She softly knocked on the door, anyway. "Dad? May I come in?"

"Yes, Dear," her father called out. Theo opened the door. The curtains were drawn so the room was only lit by a lamp and the computer screen. Mr. Burr sat at the desk and smiled faintly at Theo when she walked in. "What is it, Theo?"

"I was wondering if I could go to a party this weekend?"

"What kind of party?"

"Um...you know...it's just a party."

"Who's house is it at?"

"Um...Mary Jefferson's?" Theo tried.

"No."

"But-"

"I don't trust her to have a party you will be safe at."

"Georges and Adrienne are going."

"Their parents don't mind if they do reckless things."

"Philip asked me to go with him."

Theo's father narrowed his eyes slightly. "What does that mean?"

"I...he just want me to go with."

"I don't know if I trust that."

"You don't trust anything, Dad."

"Theo, don't use that tone with me."

"Sorry."

He sighed. "I'm just trying to make sure nothing bad will happen to you."

"I'm sure I'll be fine if Philip is there. I told you what happened at homecoming."

He sighed again. "I don't know, Theo..."

"We can always leave if we want, and it's not like I'll be drinking or anything. I highly doubt Philip will, either."

"I...If something happens to you..."

Theo glanced at the picture of her mother on the desk. "Nothing will."

Her father gazed at her. "Fine. But you stay with Philip and leave if anything happens."

"Okay, Dad. Thank you."

"Are you done with your homework?"

"Almost."

"Finish up. We have to leave for ballet soon."

"Okay." Theo stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She exhaled and went back to her own room, where her phone was waiting.

 **You:** My dad said I could go. I just have to stick to you the whole time.

 **Pip:** Ha. Doesn't he know I wouldn't let anything happen to you?

 **You:** Oh, how smooth.

 **Pip:** Sorry. I didn't mean for that to sound weird

 **You:** It's fine, silly.

 **Pip:** Right. Sorry.

 **You:** I appreciate that you care.

 **Pip:** Of course.

Theo heard her father's voice from downstairs. "Theo, get your things together."

"Coming, Dad," Theo shouted back as she quickly said goodbye to Philip.

 **You:** I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow.

 **Pip:** Of course.


	14. Chapter 14

Peggy usually surprised people when she said she was an elementary school teacher. Considering how often she swore, broke rules, and was generally a barely decent person, it was astonishing how she could be so nice in front of the first graders she taught. However, as soon as the children were gone, Peggy was back to her usual self.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Peggy shouted when her phone suddenly rang after school. She hoped it was one of the kids' parents calling, but it was Eliza, which meant she had to answer. "Hey," Peggy said into the phone, looking around for the papers she had dropped.

"Hi, Peggy," Eliza's voice responded. "How are you, today? How were the kids?"

"I'm good, they were good, it's all good. You?"

"I'm alright. Have to head into work soon. So many babies." Eliza giggled. "Philip and Angie came over yesterday."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I miss them already."

"You'll see them again in two weeks."

"I know, I know. Still..."

"Still don't know why you didn't just have your own kids or adopt, at least."

"Angelica and I work too much. I want to spend all my time with them."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "You're too nice, E."

"I know. It's passed on to Philip."

"Yes, it has. He's suuuuper polite when he comes over and it's real weird."

"You just aren't used to it."

Peggy picked up a pencil and pushed it into her fluffy ponytail. "Yeah, whatever. Stephen is nice enough."

"Speaking of Stephen," Eliza said slowly. Peggy narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"Philip told me Stephen's been acting off. A little too closed off and defensive. Things like that. Said that Mary is bothering him more but that doesn't seem to be the whole cause of the problem."

Peggy hummed. "I'll tell Maria. We'll talk to him about it."

"Alright. I'm sure Angelica can talk to him sometime if you think he should."

"Okay. Thank you, Eliza."

"Of course, Pegs. Let me know how things go."

"Yeah. Love ya."

"I love you, too." Peggy could hear the smile in Eliza's voice. "Bye-Bye."

"Bye." Peggy hung up. She rubbed her face with her hands and bit her upper lip. "Shit." She combed a hand through her hair. "It's fine, Peggy. You've had to deal with your high school breakdowns on your own. You can handle your son's issues, too. You got this."

Peggy graded the first graders' math tests, the work taking twenty minutes, and hurried home. As she drove up the long driveway, her mind became hyper aware of how her son acted. Always in his room, not talking much, never really caring about things. Peggy took a breath to calm her nerves. _It'll be fine,_ she thought. _It's just stress from school. Teenage angst._

Stephen was home already, of course. Peggy considered talking to him right away, but decided to wait until Maria got home. The minutes ticked by. Five, six, seven o'clock. Peggy had dinner ready by the time Maria arrived at 7:30. They called Stephen down for dinner; he was on his phone. _Always on his phone._

Peggy fidgeted at the table while she and Maria talked about their days of work. Peggy turned to Stephen. "How was your day of school?"

Stephen shrugged. "Fine."

 _Always just fine_. "That's good."

Stephen left the dinner table first.

"Something's wrong with him," Peggy said once Stephen was upstairs.

Maria raised an eyebrow as she took off her glasses and pulled down her hair. "What do you mean?"

Peggy explained what Eliza had told her and her own observations.

Maria's lips formed a thin line. "Have you talked to him, yet?"

Peggy shook her head.

"Let's go." Maria patted Peggy's hand as she stood. They headed upstairs together, then Maria knocked on Stephen's door.

"What?" Stephen shouted.

Maria opened the door, and she and her wife walked into the bedroom. "Hey, dude. How are you doing?"

"Fine." Stephen didn't look up from his phone as his parents say on the bed next to him.

"You sure?"

Stephen narrowed his eyes. "Yes?"

"Yeah? Your Aunt Eliza called today."

"Okay?"

"She said that Philip had told her that you'd been upset lately."

Stephen's eyes stopped moving over his phone and he swallowed hard. "It's just Mary," he said quietly.

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to us if something is wrong. We'll help you figure it out."

Stephen chewed on his upper lip. "Yeah, I know. I'm fine, though, so...you can leave, now."

Always wants to be alone. "We just want to help you," Peggy insisted. "We know you're probably stressed at this point in your life-"

"Listen, talking about shit like this isn't very helpful, alright? I'm fine. I can handle my own issues for now." Stephen huffed and delved into his phone again. Peggy fiddled her thumbs as Maria sighed.

"Alright." Maria stood up, and Peggy followed. "We won't bother you anymore. You just come to us when you need to, okay? Don't say we didn't try."

Stephen nodded for his parents to leave.

"We love ya, kid." Maria ruffled Stephen's hair. He huffed and hurried to fix it.

"Love you, too," Stephen grumbled. His mothers left his room.

"I hope he's okay," Peggy said, rubbing her arm.

"It'll work out," Maria promised, rubbing her wife's back. Peggy leaned into it and muttered something incoherent. "I know, I know. Come on, let's just go to bed, huh?"

"Okay."

"You have a pencil in your hair, babe."

"Ah, shit. I forgot about that."

* * *

Stephen tried his best to ignore his parents. He knew he was fine. He could handle everything that was happening in his mind without anyone else getting involved, both family and friends included. The only problem was that they kept trying to butt their ways into his life, anyway.

The text that appeared on his phone screen was hard to ignore.

 **Philip:** Hey

 **You:** What?

 **Philip:** Don't get mad.

 **You:** What?

 **Philip:** Theo and I are going to the party.

Stephen's breath stuttered.

 **You:** Why?

 **Philip:** I just kinda wanted to, I guess. I asked Theo to come with and she said yes.

 **You:** You asked her out?

 **Philip:** No. Not necessarily. I just asked. I knew you didn't want to come.

 **You:** Well, if you're all gonna leave me alone then I might as well go

 **Philip:** We aren't leaving you alone. You just don't want to go.

 **You:** No, I'll just go. I can drive you and Theo there at least

 **Philip:** Are you sure? I know you really don't want to be there.

 **You:** Whatever. You're all going without me anyway and that's kinda bothersome.

 **Philip:** You don't have to come man. You don't like being around people anyway.

 **You:** I also don't like it when all my friends decide to do something without me.

 **Philip:** I'm sorry dude but you don't have to get so upset about this

 **You:** I'm not upset. I'll just go. Fuck it.

Philip didn't respond for a while.

 **Philip:** Okay. If you're sure.

 **You:** I am.

 **Philip:** I don't trust you

 **You:** Fuck off

Philip didn't answer. Stephen didn't care. He went back to looking at pictures of assorted people online, trying to figure out who he found attractive, throwing his phone across the bed when he couldn't. He sighed deeply. His phone buzzed again. He wanted to be left alone.

He couldn't stand being lonely.


	15. Chapter 15

Philip patted his thighs as he paced around the living room on Saturday had never been to this kind of party before, and he was a tad nervous.

"No drinking," his dad had told him. "No drugs. No fighting. No sex."

"Got it, Dad." Philip rolled his eyes.

"And for the love of God, take care of Theo," his pops shouted from the other room. "Burr won't shut the fuck up about it."

" _Alex,_ " Dad chastised.

"He's a junior in high school. It's fine."

Dad sighed and rolled his eyes. "Do take care of her, though. She's not one for parties."

I know, Dad. I've got her." Philip's father smiled and ruffled his hair. A car honked outside. "I have to go." Philip rushed out the door and to Stephen's car. The twins were already sitting in the back, talking excitedly, so Philip sat in the front next to Stephen, who looked more exhausted and pissed off than usual. Philip didn't ask about it.

They drove to Theo's house, where Philip got out of the car to knock on the door. Mr. Burr answered with his usual intimidating straight face.

"Hello, Sir," Philip's voice cracked. "I'm here to pick up Theo...?" Mr. Burr glared at Philip, but called for Theo to come downstairs. She wore a skirt, and her straight hair was down for the first time in a long time. Philip had trouble breathing for a moment.

"Hey, Philip." Theo smiled sweetly.

"Hi. Ready to go?"

"Yup?" Theo hugged her father, then walked ahead of Philip. Philip went to follow her, but was stopped by her father.

"Hamilton," the man grumbled.

Philip turned to him and gulped. "Yes, Sir?"

"Nothing happens to her, got it?"

"Yes, Sir. Got it."

"Oh, leave him alone, Dad," Theo huffed. She grabbed Philip's arm and pulled him away from the house. "Sorry about that. Dad can be so protective sometimes. I swear he acts like you're a boyfriend he's never met before."

Philip blushed. "Yeah." He opened the car's passenger door for Theo, then sat in in the back with the rowdy twins.

Mary's house wasn't too far away, but it was packed full of high schoolers with music blasting down the street, where Stephen had to park. He was on his phone before he even left the vehicle. The twins skipped ahead, disappearing into the crowd of kids. Theo fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"You okay?" Philip quietly asked.

"I've never done something this...crazy before," Theo muttered, watching her shoes move across the pavement.

"It'll be okay. I've got you."

Theo smiled faintly. "I know."

It was hard enough to get through the front door, and even harder to comprehend what to do when they got through. There were so many people in the building that Philip resorted to wrapping his arm around around Theo's waist so that he didn't lose track of her. She looked at Philip, but didn't do anything else.

Someone shrieked across the room. For a second, Philip thought someone was being murdered, but then a cloud of orange hair sped towards Stephen.

"You came!" Mary cried out, squeezing Stephen in a hug. His face screwed up in discomfort.

"Yeah," Stephen grumbled, pushing her away. She stumbled around in her heels and pouted.

"Steviiiieee, come dance with me?" Mary tugged on Stephen's shirt. Stephen tore her hand away.

"No."

Mary whined, but rushed off when someone called her name. Stephen sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"God, this is going to suck."

"I told you that you didn't need to come," Philip said. Stephen glared at him. "Okay, then."

Adrienne appeared out of nowhere, looking like she was about to laugh. "Guys, you've gotta see this." She led her friends to the kitchen, where at least a dozen kids were gathered around the table, including Georges and Mary. Mary finished off a bottle of beer and slammed it down on the table. It was barely nine at night.

"Oh, no," Stephen muttered as he leaned back against the counter. Philip and Theo did the same. Adrienne watched from the other side of the table.

"Spin the bottle _and_ seven minutes in heaven," Mary cheered. "Let's do this."

Philip shook his head at Georges for playing, but Georges either didn't see him or didn't care. Philip and his friends watched all the popular kids play their game. Over and over, they travelled to a closet in pairs. Some reappeared after having some fun, and others came back out after pretending to have done something. All of the boys refused to go into the closet together, and no one minded. If a pair of girls tried to say no, they were pressured into doing it, anyway. When Georges spun the bottle, it landed on Mary, and everyone agreed that they just kiss each other on the cheek, considering their family ties.

Most people seemed to be having fun with the game, including Philip and Theo, who were mocking the popular kids who were too into the game.

"Oh, yes," Theo said with a valley girl accent, "I've always wanted to make out with you in a closet."

"Me, too," Philip replied like a surfer dude. "Please, kiss me once in a place no one can see so I can brag that we did something more."

"Of course. I want to do that, too. Kiss me!"

Theo and Philip made kissy faces and noises to each other, trying not to laugh. When Theo broke down into giggles, Philip caught Stephen staring at him with a look that said, "Really? You aren't together?" Philip's cheeks burned. He didn't respond when Theo tried to joke around, again. Theo stopped after that.

"Oh, Steeepheeen!" The boy groaned when Mary yelled for him. "Stephen, come on! It's your turn."

"I'm not playing," Stephen replied.

"You have to! It landed on you. That's the rule."

Philip looked over, seeing that the bottle was pointed between two people and vaguely at Stephen.

"I'm not playing," Stephen said again. Mary pouted. One of her friends whispered something to her, and they both smirked. Mary stood and walked towards Stephen, who ignored the advance. Mary grabbed Stephen's hands. "Let go of me right now." Mary shook her head. Three of her friends got up and crowded around Stephen, as well. They all took hold of him and shoved him towards the closet. "Hey, stop!"

Philip subconsciously held onto Theo tighter. The girls giggled as they pushed Stephen and Mary into the closet together. Philip blinked and he was suddenly across the room, trying to get past the girls and to the door. He finally got the door open, but not before he heard a _smack_ and Mary yelping. Stephen stumbled out of the closet, and an extremely upset Mary followed him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stephen shouted.

"I just wanna have fun, Stevie!" Mary protested.

"No, no, you can't just do something like that. Regardless of if you're wasted or not."

"Stephen-" Mary stepped towards Stephen, who pushed her away.

"Stay the fuck away from me."

Mary pouted and stamped her feet. Philip hesitantly moved towards Stephen. "Hey, let's just leave-"

"Find your own way home," Stephen snarled at him, his eyes wet. "It's all your faults that I'm here in the first place."

"You didn't have to-"

"Fuck off." Stephen turned on his heel and pushed his way through the crowd. Philip tried to go after him, but Theo grabbed his arm.

"Philip, let him go," she said.

Philip shook his head. "No, I have to...it's my fault..."

"No, it's not. Let's just get someone to pick us up, huh?"

"I have to talk to him."

"You can talk to him tomorrow. He's upset right now."

"But-"

"Philip, please."

"I..." Philip bit his lip. "Fine. But..."

"Come, on, Pip. Let's go outside." Theo pulled him out the front door. Stephen's car was already gone.

"This was such a bad idea," Philip mumbled. "I shouldn't have...I knew I shouldn't have..."

"It'll be okay, Philip."

"This is all my fault."


	16. Chapter 16

Maria lay on the couch with her wife, their legs tangled together, Maria lightly running her hands over Peggy's perfect curves. They occasionally kissed softly, whispering to each other, relishing in one of the few moments they could spend together.

"Fucking pieces of shit!"

Maria jumped when the front door slammed. She sighed and craned her neck to see over the edge of the couch. Stephen was stomping around the kitchen, just getting himself a glass of water. "What's wrong?" Maria asked, exhausted. "You're back early."

"Yeah, well, everyone I know is an asshole," Stephen said.

"Is that so?" Maria mumbled.

"All my friends made me go to that stupid party-"

"Did they?"

"And then Mary forces me into a closet and tries to..."

Maria perked up. "What did she do?"

"She tried to kiss me and stuff. But I slapped her."

Maria clenched her fists around Peggy's shirt, her eyelid twitching.

"I'm going to bed," Stephen said. He went upstairs.

Peggy looked up at Maria. "Hon? You okay?"

Maria stood up and paced around the room. "I can't fucking believe this."

"M-"

"All I wanted was to make sure this kind of thing _didn't_ happen to my kid."

Peggy stood up and tried to hug her wife. "He got out of it, at least."

"But what if he doesn't next time? What if that...God, that awful girl..."

"What do you want to do, then? Call Thomas and James while they're on their anniversary?"

Maria stopped pacing for a second. "Yes."

Peggy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, boy. I'll start pouring the wine." Peggy went to the basement to find a drink while Maria called Thomas.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Thomas usually answered by now. _He and James must really be "busy", this time,_ Maria guessed.. Maria tapped her foot impatiently and chugged the glass of wine that Peggy had handed her. After the fifth try, Thomas finally picked up.

Thomas panted on the other end for about five seconds before he finally spoke. "What...What the fuck do you...do you want?"

"Oh, my god..." Maria muttered. "Could you stop having sex for five minutes?"

"You called me on my- _James_ -our anniversary. You either give us five minutes-" He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was a bit higher. "Ten minutes, or you deal with hearing this."

Maria rolled her eyes and hung up, cutting off a breathy moan from Thomas. She drank another glass and a half of wine before Thomas called her back, still as exhausted sounding.

"What did you want?" He asked, his voice rough.

"Only eight minutes." Maria inspected her fingernails. "I'm disappointed in you, James."

Faintly, in the background, James said, "Fuck you."

"No thanks."

"Seriously, Maria," Thomas sighed, "what is it? We would like to continue enjoying our _anniversary._ "

"Your daughter is having a party at your house, assumedly getting drunk, so there's that."

"That's nice. Is that all?"

"She tried to sexually assault my son."

The line went silent. Then there were whispers and sheets rustling. The whispering progressively got louder.

"Of course I talked to her about it," Thomas hissed. "She just never listens."

"I keep telling you to be more assertive with her," James retorted. "You're her father."

"I know, I know, but I don't want to be mean to her."

"Thomas. She's been doing this to Stephen for at least three years now."

"Okay, okay." Thomas aimed his words at Maria again. "We'll talk to her about it when we get home, alright?"

"You better. I can easily sue you if she does something to him."

"We...we're literally both lawyers."

"I know Alexander."

"I get it."

"I'll leave you be, then. I better not hear about her bothering Stephen, anymore."

"We'll try our best."

"Mhm." Maria hung up without saying goodbye. She sighed deeply and flopped back onto the couch. Peggy sat next to her and rubbed her shoulders.

"You should go to bed, babe," Peggy suggested. "You've been doing business stuff all day, and now this, too."

Maria shook her head. "I'm not going to be able to sleep. All I wanted was the best for him, but he already has to deal with so much shit..."

"Shh..." Peggy gently combed her fingers through Maria's hair.

"If the same thing that happened to me happens to him-"

"That's not going to happen, Maria."

"You don't know that."

"You need to have faith in these kinds of things. Besides, you're working on fixing the problem like you always do. This will all get better."

Maria rubbed her face and sighed again.

"Come on, hon, let's go to bed." Peggy pulled Maria off of the couch. "You have to work tomorrow."


	17. Chapter 17

Philip hadn't been able to get in contact with Stephen for the rest of the weekend, and it was eating him up inside. Stephen didn't sit with his friends in the morning, or at lunch, or in any of their classes.

"He's still mad at us," Philip told Theo after school, leaning against the lockers.

"I'm sure he isn't really mad," Theo assured.

"He's been avoiding us all day."

"He'll talk to us when he's ready."

Philip sighed and stared down the hall. Stephen had to walk this direction to leave the building, and, sure enough, he eventually appeared from behind a few other kids. "I'm going to talk to him."

"Philip, don't."

But Philip was already walking away. He went up to Stephen, who was very invested in his phone, like usual. "Stephen, hey." Stephen looked up and narrowed his eyes at Philip. He tried to continue walking, but Philip stopped him again. "Dude, you need to talk to us."

"No, I don't." Stephen pushed Philip aside, but Philip moved in front of him again.

"Please, just talk to us. You've been upset about something for who knows how long, and now you're mad at us because _you_ decided to go to the party you didn't want to go to."

Stephen scowled. "For the love of God, leave me alone."

"No. You can't just-"

"Hey, don't touch that," Theo's voice squeaked from down the hall. Philip tensed and spun around. Mary was standing next to Theo's locker, holding onto a picture. Philip clenched his fists and rushed towards them. Every time Theo reached out for the picture, Mary held it away. "Give it back," Theo pleaded.

"Hey, leave her alone," Philip growled at Mary.

Mary tsked. "You and your friends ruined my party, and now I'm grounded because Stephen snitched on me."

"Good. Give her the picture back."

"Please," Theo whispered.

Mary glared behind Philip, then smirked. "Fine." She daintily ripped the paper into four pieces, dropping the shreds of Theo's mother onto the floor.

"No!" Theo cried out, covering her mouth with her hands.

Philip's entire body seemed to twitch. He lunged for Mary, but someone held him back by his shirt.

"Philip, s'il vous plaît, calmer-vous," Georges said.

Philip struggled in his friend's grasp, shouting at Mary, "You bitch! How dare you?"

Adrienne was there, now, too. "Philip, stop. I've got this."

"No, let me-"

Adrienne cracked Mary across the face with the back of her hand. "The hell is wrong with you?" She yelled at the redhead. "You can't just do that to someone. That's her mom, you asshole."

Mary held a hand against her cheek and snarled. "Do you think I care?"

"Do you think I won't smack you again?"

"Fuck all of you," Mary huffed and stormed off.

"Fuck you, too, bitch!" Philip shouted at her back.

"Philip, stop." Adrienne flicked Philip's forehead.

"She-"

"I took care of her. Do something else with your time." Adrienne gave a pointed look to Theo, who was still staring at her torn picture with wide, watering eyes. Philip's body suddenly relaxed. He hurried over to Theo, but she started to run down the hall.

"Theo, wait," Philip called out, chasing after her. He followed her into a classroom. "Theo, are you-" She hugged him, crying into his shoulder. "Okay." Philip wrapped his arms tightly around Theo, trying to comfort her.

"Why would she do that?" Theo sobbed.

"I...I don't know," Philip quietly responded. Even he was confused as to how someone could do something like this. Theo's mother had died of cancer near the end of Theo's fourth grade year, hence why she and her father had moved to this town. It took Theo years to recover, but most people wouldn't know it, considering Theo was very good at hiding her feelings. However, Mary seemed to always be able to see the pain. All the way back in fifth grade, she had made fun of Theo for only having one parent, now. Odd, Mary herself had only been adopted earlier that year. "She's just a bad person," Philip eventually said. Theo gripped the back of his shirt and nodded. "It'll be okay. I've got you."

* * *

Stephen had done nothing during this encounter but watch. He didn't want to do anything else. He felt like he still had the right to be angry with his friends, and Mary had gotten slapped, again, so everything seemed well deserved. Still, the picture thing was pretty awful, so Stephen took it upon himself to fix that, at least. He told the twins to go ahead home, then he carefully lifted the pieces of the picture off the ground. He went into the nearest classroom and precisely taped the picture back together. He texted Philip to find out where he and Theo were.

He softly knocked on the classroom door and walked in, holding out the picture to his hugging friends. Theo took it, wiping her eyes.

"Thank you," Theo muttered.

"Yeah," Stephen responded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's my fault, anyway."

"It's not-"

"Yes, it is." Stephen left before either of his friends could say anything else. He went to find Mary. She was in the girls' bathroom, crying loudly. Stephen walked in without any inhibitions and leaned against the wall. "I don't get why you're crying."

Mary turned to him, choking on a sob. "She hit me," she whimpered.

"Yeah, Adrienne has hit me before, too. Big deal."

"Well...you all ruined everything. You got me in trouble."

"Stop whining for five minutes. It's your fault, you know."

Mary huffed. "You're such an ass."

Stephen stepped closer to her, and in a low voice, he said, "You are literally the worst human being I have ever met, and I will never want to be with you."

Mary made her bottom lip tremble. "Why don't you just give me a chance?"

Stephen looked at her for a moment. Her eyes were his favorite color and he hated it. "You know, I want to give you a chance, sometimes. Sometimes, you seem like you could be better than how you act. But then you do shit like this, and it changes my mind. It's your fault that I don't want to be with you."

"So if I acted as sweet and annoying as your friends, you'd date me."

"If you became a better, nice person, then I would consider having a normal conversation with you. Hell, maybe I'd consider being friends to you. Maybe I can forgive you. Like hell am I going to forget." Stephen left it at that and left the bathroom, ignoring the shouts behind him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay so after this chapter the story should be significantly less Stephen-centric. Hah oops.**

* * *

Philip waved to his dad as the car drove back down the long driveway of Stephen's house. He hadn't been invited over, but he was there, anyway. He decided he was going to talk to Stephen whether Stephen wanted to or not. So, Philip stepped up to the door and rang the bell. He rang it twice. Stephen answered the door.

"What are you doing here?" Stephen asked.

"We're talking," Philip stated, pushing past Stephen and entering the house.

"About what?" Stephen crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"About you. About why you've been upset lately."

Stephen pulled his arms tighter around himself. "I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. I just want to help you feel better."

"I don't need your help."

"That proves that there's something wrong."

"Why don't you just leave me alone about it?"

"Why don't you just leave me alone about it?"

"I'm sorry I'm scared you're, like, depressed or something."

Stephen bit his lip. "I'm not."

"how are we supposed to know that?"

"Because I told you so."

"We don't believe you. Just tell us what's wrong and maybe we will."

"I'm not..." Stephen's voice died out. "I..." Stephen sighed and started walking towards the stairs. Philip followed him up to his room. Stephen sat on the bed, pulling his knees up to his chest. Philip sat on the other side of the bed and waited. He waited for at least five minutes of absolute silence.

"I just don't know," Stephen finally muttered.

"Don't know what?" Philip softly asked.

"Anything."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just...the rest of you have it all figured out, you know? But I...I just don't...I don't know who I am."

"Seriously? Out of everyone I know, you seem like you know yourself the best."

Stephen shook his head. "No, I mean...I don't know _what_ I am. Who I like. Who I want to be with and whatever."

Philip blinked. "Wait, this is just about your sexuality?"

" _Just?_ " Stephen huffed, offended. "What do you mean 'just'? This is the most stressful shit in my life!"

"It doesn't need to be. Just don't let it bother you too much. It'll come to you."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You aren't confused. You don't have days where you're attracted to everyone, then other days where you're attracted to no one. Days where you like guys, then girls, then both, then neither. Hell, there are days where I'm not sure if I still want to be a guy or not." Stephen let out a breath and picked at his blanket. "The only thing I'm sure about is that I'm not asexual."

Philip gave Stephen an incredulous look. "We were all confused, too, you know."

"Yeah, right," Stephen scoffed. "Ho hard is it to figure out that you're straight?"

"Well, when you grow up with two dads and that's all you know, it's kind of difficult." Stephen looked at him. "All the adults I knew were either in a gay relationship or not in a relationship, at all. I was probably four or so when I first really realized that a lot of couples I didn't know were just one boy and one girl. When my parents explained that that was the norm, it blew my fucking mind." Philip chuckled a bit. "Adrienne wasn't sure if she could like girls, because she hadn't really seen that before. Georges didn't know that he could like both boys and girls. Even Theo was confused for a while. For years, she couldn't figure out if she was straight or aromantic. She came out as straight in freshman year, remember?"

"Yeah," Stephen muttered. "I always wondered what helped her decide." He narrowed his eyes at Philip. Philip was sure Stephen was hinting at something, but he just shrugged.

"I don't know. Doesn't matter." Stephen rolled his eyes. "The point is, everyone gets confused about this. Unless they're a complete bigot."

"Right." Stephen chewed on his upper lip. "I just want to figure it out. I don't want to be the one person who doesn't know."

"Stephen, it's really alright. It's never too late to figure this kind of thing out. You'll be happier if you know what you are for sure, right?"

"Yeah, I...I guess."

"And you know you can always talk to me, right? I'm your best friend. You can talk to all of us."

"I know."

Philip scooted over and hugged Stephen tightly. "We love you, man."

Stephen hesitantly wrapped his arms around Philip, as well. "Thank you."


	19. Chapter 19

If the document Alexander was reading hadn't been on a computer, he would have torn the paper to shreds. If Burr wrote one more word about...no, if Burr didn't start _properly_ start writing about this case, they were going to lose, big time. _Why did I have to be_ _partnered with him?_

After struggling to read the last few sentences of Burr's statement, Alex stormed out of his office and across the hall. He printed the document out, then headed for Burr's office. Alexander knocked on Aaron's door harder than necessary.

Aaron opened the door, saying, "Hello, Alexan-"

"What the hell is this, Burr?" Alex shouted, stomping past Aaron and into the office. Aaron sighed deeply and closed the door.

"What's the problem this time?" Aaron asked.

"You are a lawyer, right?"

"Yes?"

"Then why don't you act like one?"

"Alexander, what are you talking about?"

"This shit!" Alexander waved the printed document around above his head.

"Did you...did you print out my statement?"

"Yes. How else am I supposed to properly show you how much you fucked up?"

"Do explain," Aaron muttered, sitting in his chair.

"You can't just use the evidence _as_ your argument. You have to make your own and _support_ it with the evidence. God, do you not know anything?"

"I personally felt as if my arguments were perfectly valid."

"The Jeffersons can make better arguments than you."

"They are wonderful lawyers."

Alexander groaned. "Do you really want this case to go to the capital?"

"It will if it needs to."

"It doesn't need to! We can easily keep it here, but your stupid, not thought out things that I hesitate to call arguments are making things more difficult than they need to be. We're supposed to work together on this case, but I'm on the verge of fighting with _you_ every time we're in the court room."

"I don't see how that is my fault."

"You are insufferable!"

"Hamilton." Alexander spun around, seeing his boss in the doorway.

"Mr. Adams, Sir." Alex tried not to scowl, but it didn't work out so well. "What do you need?"

"Your shouting is disrupting your coworkers. Again."

"You can tell Thomas and James to shove it up their asses." Alexander lowered his voice. "They do that shit enough, already."

"If you want to say something like that to them, you can do it yourself."

"Fine." Alexander tried to walk out the door, but Adams stopped him.

"I still need to talk to you two."

"Great," Alexander growled. "About the case, I assume?"

"Yes," Adams confirmed. "I've been getting and making a lot of calls about it lately. You two have been failing to keep it small, and now we have to take it to the capital."

"Fucking wonderful." Alex punched the desk. "This is Burr's fault, you know."

"This isn't anyone's fault in particular-"

"Ha!"

"You know, Alexander, if you weren't such a good lawyer, I would consider firing you for misconduct."

"If I'm such a good lawyer, then I can get hired anywhere I want."

Adams sighed and shook his head. "Hamilton, why don't you go take a walk?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Alexander rolled his eyes, but didn't argue for once. He stepped out of the room and went to the small kitchen area, needing a fifth cup of coffee. As he waited for the pot to brew, Thomas Fucking Jefferson walked into the room.

"You aren't fired, yet?" Jefferson asked with a smug smile.

"No," Alex replied. "I'm too good of a lawyer for that, apparently."

"Mhm. Sure you are."

"I'm surprised you haven't been fired, yet, too. You and James are much too inappropriate to be allowed to work in the same firm."

"It's not my fault you don't have any fun with your husband."

"Hey, we actually-" Alex ended up being grateful that the beeping of the coffee machine cut him off. He quickly poured himself a cup and chugged half of it. Significantly calmer with caffeine in his system, Alexander said, "Just piss off, Jefferson. I have an actually important case to work on." He pushed past Thomas and locked himself in his office again, setting to work. He didn't stop until Adams knocked on his door.

"Go home," Adams said. "You need to pack."

"Pack?" Alexander asked. "What do you mean, pack?"

"You need to leave tomorrow for Albany."

"You've got to be kidding me," Alex muttered. "You couldn't have planned this any better?"

"It will be fine."

"You're telling me I have to leave less than a day before I have to leave!"

"Oh, well."

"Jesus Christ." Alex haphazardly gathered his things. "Don't know why I work for this place, sometimes..." He left before Adams could say anything else to him.

Alexander slammed the door behind him when he got home, then threw his possessions onto the dining table.

"Bad day?" John asked from where he was making dinner.

"Adams is such an asshole," Alex grumbled.

"I know. What did he do this time?"

"Burr and I have to go to Albany for a few days."

John's lips formed a thin line. "Hm."

"We leave tomorrow, apparently."

"Oh."

"I'm finishing this case as soon as possible, I promise."

"I'm sure you will."

Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"We're going to get the new car tomorrow," John said.

"God, I forgot. I'm sorry. I can't-"

"I know. It's okay. You can't really control what your boss makes you do. I'll take care of it."

"I really wanted to see..."

"It'll be fine."

Alexander moved over to John and kissed him. "I love you."

"I know. I love you, too."

* * *

Philip woke up late, but didn't care. It was the weekend; why should he care? He went to make himself breakfast, finding the rest of his family already awake. Dad was making a breakfast of pancakes and eggs, which was somewhat rare, Pops was rushing around the house, gathering his things and being repeatedly told to sit down and eat for God's sake, Angie was sitting at the table, solving an entire book of math puzzles, and Samuel was sitting next to the table, wagging his tail and waiting for food to fall.

"What's going on?" Philip wondered aloud.

"I have to go to Albany for a few days," Pops said. "Maybe longer. We'll see how much Burr ruins everything."

"He's not that bad," Philip retorted.

"Pandering to the father of the lover," Pops muttered. "Why am I not surprised?"

Philip's cheeks heated up.

"Philip," Dad called out, "Can you go get the mail, please?"

"But the mail doesn't come until later," Philip said.

"We forgot to get it yesterday. Just go get it, please."

Philip thought he remembered his dad reading the mail the previous day, but he didn't argue further. He slipped on some shoes and padded outside, passing a white car in the driveway. He stopped to look at it for a moment, confused, but just went on his way. They didn't have any mail.

"Why's there a car outside?" Philip asked when he came back inside.

"Huh," was all his dad said.

"Can you get me the keys by the door?" Pops asked.

"Yeah." Philip took the single key off of the hook. It didn't have the pictures on the keychain, anymore. He went to hand the key to his father, but the man pushed it away.

"No, _my_ keys. This is yours." Pops grabbed his keys off of the table. "Found it."

"Wait, what do you mean, mine?"

"Don't be so dense," Angie said.

"Angie, don't be rude," her dad reprimanded. She rolled her eyes.

"Philip," Pops patted Philip's shoulder, "it's yours."

"Wha...wait the car?" Philip asked. Everyone else, even the dog, it seemed, nodded. "Holy...oh, my..." Philip covered his mouth and jumped around, trying not to squeal. "I have a car? Holy crap, I have a car!"

"It's not that uncommon," Angie muttered.

"So glad I got to see this." Pops smiled.

"I told you it would be fine," Dad responded.

"I have to tell everyone." Philip was already taking out his phone, fumbling with the buttons. "I don't even know what I'm going to do with it."

"Oh, you can take me to escuela, ahora, hermano," Angie suggested.

"No, I don't-"

"Yes, you do," Dad confirmed.

Philip pouted. "Fine."

"Hey, at least you have a car, now."

Philip smiled widely, again. "Yeah. I have a car, now. Awesome."


	20. Chapter 20

**Let's just, uh...add some random characters...just imagine the Heathers.**

* * *

Mary's friends were...annoying, to be honest. They never talked about anything interesting, and, no, Katherine, boys aren't that interesting right now. No, Joan, school fights and drama aren't interesting, either. And, no, Sarah, my family is definitely not interesting, so stop asking about them.

"What do you mean, 'boys aren't interesting'?" Katherine asked. "You try to get with Stephen all the time."

"Yeah," Mary replied, "because he interests me."

Joan rolled her eyes. "But he's so boring. He never does anything."

"Besides," Sarah added, "he has two moms. Aren't you worried that he's gay? You don't want to catch it."

Mary clenched her jaw and crossed her legs. "It's not like a disease, you know."

"Uh-huh. Still. I'd avoid it if I were you."

"Got it," Mary muttered.

"Why don't you go for someone else?" Katherine suggested.

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Rich." Katherine swooned.

"I'd rather not date someone who's shorter than me when I'm not in heels."

"How about Jake?" Joan offered.

"He's a complete idiot."

"So?"

Mary raised an eyebrow at her friends. "Seriously?"

"I'd sleep with him," Sarah said.

"You'd sleep with everyone, Sarah."

"Are you slut shaming me?"

"Not at all," Mary grumbled.

"You know, you act like you don't even want to me friends with us sometimes."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"You're always disagreeing with us."

"Maybe _you're_ disagreeing with _me._ "

"Sure. You also _never_ tell us about your family when we ask. We don't even know your address."

"I've already told you a million times: my dad is a lawyer and my mom travels for her finance work. And they don't like having people at our house."

"That's such a stupid thing," Sarah scoffed.

"Deal with it."

"God, stop being so rude."

Mary sighed. Loud laughter broke out from across the room. Mary turned, realizing it came from Stephen's table. Mary didn't know what was happening over there, but they all looked like they were having fun. Even Stephen was smiling faintly. Mary sighed again.

"Ugh, they're so annoying," Sarah said. "Why do you like him again?"

"Because he doesn't care," Mary responded, a tinge of harshness in her voice. "He doesn't care about what people think of him. Unlike you and your pompous attitude, _Sarah._ "

Sarah huffed and crossed her arms. "Bitch."

Mary decided she didn't even need to repeat the word.

* * *

"Hey, kid," Philip smiled at his sister when she climbed into the passenger seat of the car- _his_ car-after school. "How was school?"

"Fine," Angie grumbled. She shifted in the car seat and took out a book.

"Um...okay. What did you learn?"

"Math and science."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Stop talking."

"Oh...okay." Philip decided to focus more on not crashing his new car.

When they got home, Angie rushed into the bathroom as fast as she could. Philip ignored it and walked the dog. When he came back a few minutes later, Angie was still in the bathroom. Philip did some homework and got a snack, which took up a good half an hour. Angie was still in the bathroom. Philip figured that something was wrong.

"Angie?" Philip gently knocked on the door. "You've been in there for a while. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone." Angie's words were oddly measured and careful.

"What are you doing in there for so long, then?"

"Reading."

"You've said before that you hate the idea of reading in a bathroom."

"Just leave me alone. You wouldn't get it."

"Wouldn't get what? Are you stressed?"

"Yes."

"About what?"

"Something you wouldn't understand."

"How would I not understand it?"

Angie didn't speak for a moment. "You aren't a girl."

"What does that-" It hit Philip like a car. "Oh."

"Yes. Now, leave me alone."

"Well...do you...have any of the...stuff?"

"No. I'm the only girl in the house. I'm waiting for dad to come home."

"I could go get some-"

"No! Just go away. You won't get it."

"But-"

"Just leave!"

"Okay, okay." Philip stepped back from the door, biting his lip. Angie was right. He didn't know what to do. He knew he should know more about this kind of thing, but he didn't. He needed help. Lots of it.

He called Adrienne.

"What do you want?" Adrienne asked when she picked up.

"I need your help," Philip said quietly.

"With what?"

"Um...I don't know how to really say this..."

"What?"

"Um...Angie...Angie got her-"

"I'll be there in less than ten minutes."

"Oh, okay-" Adrienne had already hung up.

She arrived seven minutes later, which meant that she was probably driving 70 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour residential area full of children. When Philip opened the door for her, she blew past him, running to the bathroom and knocking on the door while holding a large bag of chocolate and plastic wrappings. "Angie?" Adrienne called out. "It's Adrienne. I brought you stuff." The door opened for her a few seconds later, and she slipped inside.

Philip paced anxiously around his house, texting Georges.

 **You:** Did you freak out when this started happening with Adrienne?

 **Georges:** Of course. But it wasn't that bad. We're really close so I just looked up some stuff and ever since then we've been cool with talking to each other about it.

 **You:** Okay. I'll do some research then I guess. I'm just really nervous for her you know?

 **Georges:** There's nothing to worry about

 **You:** I know but she seemed so upset

 **Georges:** Everything will be fine. You're a wonderful older brother. You've got this.

 **You:** Okay. Yeah. Okay. Thanks man

Adrienne came out of the bathroom, sighing. Philip looked at her hopefully.

"Is she going to be okay?" Philip worried.

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Adrienne said as if it was obvious. It most certainly was not to Philip. "She just doesn't want to talk about it, so don't. She'll tell your parents herself, so don't."

"Got it." Philip nodded quickly. "I'll just...apologize."

"For what?"

"For not being able to really help her."

"Dude, you literally just helped her a lot."

"How?"

"By caring about her at all. By calling me for help. You could have done a lot less."

"I guess."

"She's really happy that you did that for her."

Philip smiled faintly. "Okay. Thanks, Adrienne."

"Of course." Adrienne started to leave. "Hey, by the way, I like your car."

"Thanks."

* * *

 **Heh could you tell I didn't know what else to add while planning this** **chapter?**


	21. Chapter 21

**I got this idea from somewhere on the Internet. Thanks Internet.**

* * *

"Pops is back home, today," Philip told Angie when he picked her up from school again.

"Oui," Angie muttered. She took an envelope out of her bag and opening it, pulling out the piece of paper inside. She unfolded it and began to highlight certain words and sentences.

"What's that?" Philip asked.

"A letter," Angie stated.

Philip narrowed his eyes. "From who?"

"The school board."

Philip relaxed. "Oh. What about? Are you in trouble?"

"No. Just smart."

"Well, yeah, duh."

"Eyes on the road, hermano."

They got home and went inside, only to be greeted by something rare: fighting.

"No, John, it's not okay," Pops was shouting, pacing around the kitchen. Philip's stomach dropped while he watched from the side with Angie. "You can't just do something like that," Pops continued.

"I didn't mean it," Dad sighed as if he'd already said it a thousand times.

"You can't do something like that without meaning to do it."

"Well, maybe if you had _told_ me-"

"I _have_ told you! A hundred times!"

"Baby, I said I was sorry!"

" _Sorry won't bring back my fucking Skittles, John!_ "

Philip calmed down a bit.

"You didn't write your name on the bag."

"Because you never eat them."

"Because you always write your name on the bag."

Pops scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I promise it won't happen again, okay?"

"It better not."

Dad sighed deeply and ran his hands down his face.

"Are you two imbéciles done arguing about nothing?" Angie spoke up. Her parents turned to her and Philip in surprise, their faces turning red."

"How long have you been home?" Dad asked.

"'No, John, it's not okay,'" Angie quoted in a gruff voice.

"Right. We're done."

"Buen. I have something for you from school." Angie held out her letter. "I highlighted the important parts."

Pops took the letter and put on his glasses. He began to read, muttering to himself. At one point, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, what?" He whispered.

"What is it?" Dad wondered, stepping closer. "Did something happen? Is she in trouble?"

Pops shook his head. "Just really smart."

Angie grinned proudly.

"'Dear Mr. and Mr. Hamilton,'" Pops read, "'it has come to our attention that your daughter, Angelica Elizabeth Hamilton, is an incredibly advanced student. The year, she is learning at a high school level in all of her classes, excluding art, choir, and physical education. Due to this, we have elected to change her grade. Instead of going into the eighth grade next year, we believe it would be wise of her to transfer to the high school to become a sophomore."

Dad gasped and covered his mouth. "Are you serious?" He asked from underneath his hand. Pops nodded, causing Dad to squeal and jump in place. "This is incredible!"

"Well, it would be incredible if they hadn't taken so long." Pops' huffing was offset by his smile. "She was memorizing multiplication tables in first grade."

"She already skipped kindergarten."

"I didn't go to school until third grade and here I am. She should have skipped more. And earlier."

"Well, she's moving up now. Just be excited, Alex."

"Yeah, yeah. I am." Pops held out his arms to Angie. "Come here, ma merveilleuse fille." Angie stepped forward into the hug, which her family joined in on. Samuel barked and ran in circles around them.

"You're cutting off my oxygen," Angie muttered. Her family laughed.

Philip mussed Angie's hair. "We're proud of you, kid," he said.

Angie looked at him. "I know." With that, she made sure she had all her things before going to her room.

"She's very blunt, isn't she?" Dad chuckled.

"Saves time," Pops shrugged. He turned to Philip. "Do you have anything exciting to tell us, too?"

Philip shyly shook his head. "Even if I did, I don't think it'd be as astonishing as that."

"Alright." Pops patted Philip's shoulder. "Go do your homework, then."

Philip nodded and went to his room, immediately taking out his phone and not doing his homework. He texted Theo.

 **You:** Angie's skipping a couple grades next year.

 **Theo:** That's wonderful! What grade is she going in to?

 **You:** Sophomore year. She'll be two below us.

 **Theo:** I'm not sure why I'm surprised. She is very intelligent.

 **You:** Yeah. She's smarter than me, honestly.

 **Theo:** You're also very smart, Philip.

 **You:** I don't know.

 **Theo:** You still want to go to law school don't you?

 **You:** Well. Yeah.

 **Theo:** You're smart, Philip.

 **You:** Have you decided what you what you want to do yet?

 **Theo:** No.

 **You:** It's a hard decision. Medical school or law school.

 **Theo:** Mom or Dad.

 **You:** Right.

 **Theo:** I honestly want to go to med school more.

 **You:** Then go. You're fully capable.

 **Theo:** I know. But the problem is that you won't be there.

Philip felt his face grow warm.

 **You:** You shouldn't just go because one of your friends will be there.

Theo didn't respond for a few minutes.

 **Theo:** I have to go. Swim practice. I'll see you at school.

 **You:** Yeah. Okay.

Philip set down his phone and lay on his back on the floor. Unrequited love was hell.


	22. Chapter 22

Georges was a morning person, like his papa. He adored the beautiful sunrise and loved hearing the animals outside wake up with it. He was always excited when a new day began.

On this specific day, Georges was especially excited. Looking at his puppy picture calendar, he saw that it was December 24th. Christmas Eve. His birthday. Adrienne's birthday, too. Number seventeen.

Georges hopped out of bed and rushed to his window, opening it. A cold wind blasted him in the face, but he didn't mind. He reached down to the mound of snow by his window, grabbing a handful. He quickly and quietly snuck across the hall to his sister's room. Adrienne was sprawled out in an odd position on her bed, but she was asleep.

Georges dropped the mound of snow onto Adrienne's face.

Adrienne was not a morning person. She woke up with a shout and hurried to wipe the ice off her face with her blanket. Georges laughed at his sister's panic until she got up and chased him back to his room, tackling him in a headlock. Georges patted her arm three times, and she released him, letting him breathe again.

"You connard," Adrienne grumbled, drying her face again.

"Happy birthday." Georges smiled weakly.

Adrienne rolled her eyes. "Bon anniversaire."

They sat on the floor in Georges' room and played cards for an hour or two, until Papa called them out for breakfast. They had their usual birthday breakfast fo chocolate filled crêpes topped with strawberries, chocolate chips, and whipped cream. Antoinette kept jumping on the table, trying to eat the breakfast, as well, mainly going for Dad's plate.

"Damn cat," Dad muttered, poking his fork towards the Antoinette in an attempt to scare her away. It didn't work. Papa picked Antoinette up and placed her on the floor, then flicked Dad on the head.

"You can harass the cat all you want on _your_ birthday," Papa chastised.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Meanwhile, Georges and Adrienne were in the middle of a race to see who could eat the most crêpes the fastest. Georges was finishing his first, and Adrienne was on her second.

"Kids," Papa called out, "if you choke and die, you won't get your presents." The twins calmed down after that.

After breakfast, the twins got dressed and ready for their day. Georges wore a light blue and white striped sweater and a yellow beanie. Adrienne wore a knee-length, violet ombré dress, black tights, her favorite leather jacket, and a navy, glitter covered beanie. Their dad had knitted the hats for their previous birthday. They left their rooms at the same time, walking in sync to the car.

"You wear the same clothes every year," Papa pointed out as they all left the house.

"Yeah," the twins responded, "so?"

"So, you make it easy for us to get you presents." Papa reached back, handing the twins two small, black boxes, which they excitedly opened. Inside were matching necklaces that could fit together. Adrienne's was a sun and Georges' was a moon. They looked at each other, switched boxes, and helped each other put the necklaces on. "Like night and day," Papa said quietly, smiling at his children through the rear view mirror.

It was true. Adrienne was as much of a night owl as Georges was an early bird. Georges was always bright, while Adrienne enjoyed the darker things. They even like to believe that Adrienne was born just before midnight, and Georges right after. They could sometimes be so different, yet they were so similar. They were their own people, but they were so similar. They were their own people, but they were always together. They were best friends and they needed each other, just like night and day.

The Mulligans went to the mall like they did every year. Philip and Theo met them there. Stephen had said that he couldn't come, because of a business lunch he had to go to.

The group walked around together, going into every store just to look around. They all got ice cream from the food court, then went to a jewelry store. Adrienne looked through the rings, picking out the ones she considered "punk". Georges considered getting his ears pierced again, since his lobes had healed over the years. Then, the twins amused themselves by watching Theo try on necklaces, with Philip insisting too much that everything looked amazing, beautiful, stunning on her.

Georges saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, catching sight of Stephen and his parents walking into the store. "Stephen!" Georges called out, waving. Stephen jumped and looked around until he saw his friends. His eyes wide, he tried to back away, but Georges was already in front of him, asking, "Why are you here? I thought you had a lunch to go to."

Stephen glanced back at his parents, who were standing at the counter. "It's a late lunch," Stephen quick said. "We just had to pick up some stuff."

"Oh." Georges frowned.

"I'm really sorry, man. I know it's your birthday, but...I-they really needed this stuff and this was the only time we could pick it up. I'll make it up to you two, I promise."

"Right, no, okay. It's okay. I'm not about to question your mom's business stuff." Georges reached up and rubbed his necklace with his thumb.

"Stephen," his mom called, waving a bag around, "we got it. We can leave now."

Stephen stepped towards her, smiling awkwardly at Georges. "I'm sorry. I just...this is really important. Happy birthday. Tell Adrienne I said that." Stephen left without another word. Georges just nodded at the empty air.

The Mulligans went home not not too long later. The twins sat on Adrienne's bed, looking through what they had gotten.

"Okay, so, what are you doing this year?" Adrienne asked. They always did this instead of making New Year's resolutions.

"Normal stuff," Georges answered. "Stay friends with everyone. Hang out with the squad more often. Maybe try to get closer with Mary."

Adrienne scoffed.

"Shut up. What are you doing?"

"Getting a girlfriend."

Georges rubbed at his necklace, rolling his eyes. "You say that every year."

"Yeah, well, it's happening this year. I can feel it."

"Sure you can."

"I'll get a girlfriend, and she'll be the prettiest, funniest, most perfect girl on the planet."

"I'll just steal her from you."

"Yeah right. Get your own girlfriend."

Georges bit his lip. "Nah. Everyone around here sucks. If they didn't, I wouldn't hang out with you all the time."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Adrienne gently punched Georges' shoulder.

"You have low standards."

"Shut up."


	23. Chapter 23

Alexander hated his job sometimes. He didn't understand why Adams insisted on having a Christmas party every year. All it did was give the Jeffersons a chance to make out at work even more, but now this time, they could be drunk. At least Alex could bring his own husband to keep him sane.

"I'm surprised there's so many people here," John muttered, glancing around the main area of the office.

"Yeah, it sucks, doesn't it?" Alex asked.

"You just hate people."

"That has nothing to do with this."

"Sure."

The offices were half-assedly decorated with wreaths, laurels, tinsel, and other things that could be found at a local Party City. There was a fake tree in the corner. Adams had unsuccessfully tried to involve everyone in a secret Santa, but everyone in the office hated each other, so there were fake gifts under the tree.

Alexander snuck into his office space, John trailing after him.

"What are we doing in here?" John wondered, smirking faintly.

"I'm getting some work done."

John's smirk disappeared. "Aren't we here for the party out there?"

"No. You're here to keep me from injuring someone, and I'm only here because it's mandatory for everyone to be here, except Burr, but just because he-" Alex cut himself off, taking in a sharp breath.

"He what?"

"Nothing. I just got mad."

"You really aren't going to rant about why Burr doesn't have to be here, but everyone else does?"

"Okay, well, kids aren't allowed, so Burr didn't have anyone to bring, so Adams said he didn't have to come if he didn't want to, which is bullshit. If _I_ don't get to spend Christmas Eve with my family, then he shouldn't get to, either." Alexander dropped into his chair, huffing and crossing his arms.

John sighed and stepped up to Alex, rubbing his shoulders and whispering in his ear, "How about I get us some drinks?"

Alex nodded quickly. "Please." John kissed Alex's neck and walked out. The moment John was gone, Alexander pulled up his work on his computer. He had been given one case right after another lately, with no breaks. He hadn't been this stressed since he was in law school while Philip was a baby.

Alexander barely heard the door open over his keyboard clicks.

"Alex..." John sighed.

"If I'm going to be stuck here, I'm going to get some work done." Alex saw John shake his head in the computer screen reflection.

"Well, I got some eggnog. I've been told it's the alcoholic kind." John placed a glass on the desk.

"Thank God," Alex muttered, taking a large sip. He swallowed and smiled in content. "We haven't had this in so long."

John chuckled. "You've got a milk-stache." Alexander licked his lips, clearing most of it. "Almost got it. I'll help you, babe." John kissed Alex deeply, licking and sucking the drink off of him. When he pulled away, Alexander gasped, his eyes wide. He playfully glared at John.

"You can't just do that, you know." Alex straightened his shirt and focused on his computer again.

"Do what?"

"I hate you."

"Sure you do. How long do you have to be here, again?"

"I don't know. A while."

"Okay...How about we finish these drinks, and then I drive you home, and we give each other our early Christmas presents?"

Alexander forced himself to not chug his drink right then. "Um...yeah. Okay. I'm sure that will be enough time."

John smiled. "Great."

* * *

 _Having your crotch being kicked wasn't necessarily a conventional alarm, but it was effective. Alexander woke up instantly, unable to breathe. Philip was jumping excitedly on the bed, completely oblivious to Alex's pain. He distantly heard John laughing next to him._

 _"It's Christmas, it's Christmas!" Philip was cheering._

 _"I can see that," Alex squeaked, still_ _recovering._

 _Philip stopped jumping and tugged on his parents arms. "Come on, come on! We have to see what Santa brought!"_

 _"Right." Alex yawned and sat up. "Let me just get your coffee. I mean sister. And coffee. For me, not you. You want coffee?"_

 _"Alex, don't give him coffee," John said._

 _"Right. Okay." Alexander got out of bed while John asked the toddler what he wanted for breakfast. Alex padded across the hall to Angie's room. She was awake, calmly gnawing on her own foot. "Hey, kid," Alex muttered, lifting her up and cradling her. She was an odd baby, they had found out. She rarely cried, and only really when she was hungry. She was exactly three months old today, making this her first Christmas. Angie stared at Alexander while he changed her and clothed her in a soft, red and green dress with poofy bloomers underneath. Alex still smiled at the tiny socks that his children wore, along with the knit headbands that Hercules had donated to them._

 _Alexander brought Angie to the kitchen, where John was making pancakes while Philip bounced around in his chair._

 _"Hijo, sit still," Alex said as he sat down with Angie laying in his arms. Philip stopped bouncing. John set down plates of food, then took Angie to feed her. She was only a quarter of the way through her bottle when Philip finished eating and ran to the tree._

 _"Hurry up!" Philip shouted._

 _"Paciencia, Pip. Patience."_

 _Philip pouted but waited quietly. When his family finally joined him at the tree, he started to pass out the presents. He tore into all of his excitedly, throwing wrapping paper everywhere. Alex held Angie in his lap while John took artistic pictures of her first Christmas. Angie watched intently as Alex showed her how to open presents._

 _"You ever notice that she just kinda...does that?" John mumbled._

 _"What?" Alexander responded. Angie shifted her unwavering gaze to John._

 _"...Stares..."_

 _"She's observing," Alex said. "Learning."_

 _"If you say so..."_

 _Angie looked at the present in front of her, then slowly reached out to it. Her tiny fingers curled around the wrapping paper and ripped a small piece off. She stared at her father again, as if to say, "See? I'm learning."_

 _Philip played with his new toys for the rest of the day. Angie spent some time chewing on a teething ring before she took a nap. After lunch, the family piled into the car to go to the movie theater. That year, the theater was playing a marathon of classic Christmas movies, so the Hamiltons decided to go._

 _Angie stared out the window as much as she could throughout the car ride. Philip talked the entire time, a trait that Alexander was becoming sorry he had passed on. Alex noticed that John kept glancing at the kids in the rear view mirror. When he realized Alex was watching him, he smiled and reached over, taking his husband's hand._

 _"I love you," John whispered._

 _"I love you, too," Alexander replied._

 _They smiled at each other, then John focused on the road again._

 _Alex heard a boy and a girl scream when they drove head first into another car._

* * *

Alexander shot up in bed, panting and shaking. He bit down on his lip and pulled at his hair. John began to wake up, yawning and stretching.

"Alex?" John whispered, "It's early. What's wrong?"

Alex couldn't find his voice. He just shook his head. John sat up and hugged him. Alexander flinched.

"You're shaking. Are you having an attack?"

Alex shrugged.

"Talk to me, baby. Do your breathing exercises."

It took Alex a minute to even begin to force himself to take deep breaths. It took him several more minutes to clear his mind enough to speak. "It...Angie's first Christmas..."

"That was a good day, right?"

Alexander gulped and nodded. "It wasn't...wasn't right...we...the theater...car crash..." Alex choked on a sob. "My babies..."

"Oh, Alex..." John hugged Alexander tighter, kissing the side of his head. "It's okay. That didn't happen. You know that."

"I-I know."

"Do you want to write it down? Tell your psychologist and Angelica?"

Alexander simply reached for his phone, pulling up his notes app. In it were various other nightmares or daymares that he had had. John rubbed Alex's back while he wrote. Alex sighed when he finished, dropping his phone onto the bed.

"Let's go back to bed, huh?" John suggested, running his fingers through Alex's hair. Alexander nodded and nuzzled against John's bare chest as they lay down. He didn't get anymore sleep that night.


	24. Chapter 24

"First day back, tomorrow," Mary's papa reminded her.

"Yup," Mary replied. She picked a pair of heels out of her walk-in closet and brought them out to her room, where the rest of tomorrow's outfit was laid out.

"Are you excited?" Papa was taking his time gathering Mary's dirty laundry.

"I guess?"

"You get to see your friends again."

Mary pursed her lips. "Yeah."

Papa hesitated, then quickly said, "I'll go see if lunch is done." He hurried out of the room, curly hair bouncing. Mary blinked in confusion, but went on with her own work. She chose her makeup and jewelry for the next day, as well, then finally changed out of her nightgown.

As she went to the dining room, Mary heard her parents talking.

"What do you mean you didn't talk to her, yet?" Dad asked.

"I just didn't," Papa said.

Dad sighed. "You need to."

"Why do _I_ have to?"

"You're her father."

"So are you!"

Dad sighed again. "You never discipline her. You have to do it."

"But-"

"Thomas, it's not that hard. You're the adult."

Papa whined. "I don't want her to be mad at me."

"You went all through college as someone who bossed everyone around. You'll deal with it."

"But-"

"Mary!" Dad called throughout the house. Mary flinched but emerged from around the corner, plastering a sweet smile on her face.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Your father needs to talk to you," Dad said, leaving the room. Papa bit his lip.

"What is it, Papa?" Mary batted her eyelashes, trying to look extra adorable.

Papa closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing straighter. "You can't talk to Stephen anymore."

Mary sputtered. "What? Why not?"

"You know why."

"That was an accident."

"You were drunk, which you're already in trouble for, and that doesn't automatically make it an accident. It wasn't an accident, and it doesn't matter if it was or not."

"But I can't just not talk to him."

"You also can't not respect his boundaries. If he doesn't want to talk to you, then don't bother him."

"But-"

"Mary," Dad yelled from the other room, "you tried to kiss him without his permission."

"But I love him, Daddy!"

"Sure you do."

"Harassment isn't love, Mary," Papa muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I think a lawyer would know by now..."

"But, I-"

"No buts. Stephen's parents have specifically expressed that you don't talk to him anymore. They considered getting him a restraining order against you after what you did."

"You can't be serious."

"Mary, you can't just do this kind of thing. This isn't how you go about trying to get with someone and you know it."

Mary crossed her arms. "You can't expect me to just not talk to him."

Papa crossed his arms, as well. "I do. Every time I hear that you did, you'll be grounded for another week."

"That's crazy!" Mary stopped her foot.

"That's discipline."

Mary's eyes welled up with tears. "But I...he-"

"No, Mary."

"Ugh! I can't believe you!" Mary stormed off, hearing her papa sigh behind her.

* * *

Philip noticed that people tended to change after winter break. Sometimes it would be something big, like a change of friends or relationships. Other times, it was something small, like a haircut or glasses.

This year, like every year, only a few things changed in his friend group. The first was small; Adrienne had a hot pink streak in her hair. The second was small, as well; Theo's hair had been trimmed to her shoulders again, but it was up all the time, anyway. The third was Stephen.

He got to school a bit later than usual. His head was down and his shoulders were tense. He kept scratching at the sleeve of his sweater and scuffing his converse on the floor. His shaven legs were clearly showing under his pleated skirt, which was swinging in time with his dangling earrings.

Philip gaped at Stephen, having a feeling that the rest of his friends were doing the same. Stephen sat at the table without saying a word. The others looked at each other, silently asking who should talk first. Philip was voted on.

"Um..." Philip cleared his throat. Stephen glanced up at him. "Are you going to say anything about it?"

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know...the skirt and stuff?"

"What about it?"

"Why are you wearing it?" Philip saw Theo shaking her head.

"I wanted to," Stephen said, a lilt of pride in his voice.

"Did something change?"

"What does that mean?" Stephen growled.

"I-I just meant-"

"What I think Philip was trying to ask," Theo interrupted, "is if you want us to call you something different or anything like that." Philip quickly nodded in agreement.

"Oh." Stephen's shoulders relaxed slightly as he chewed his lip in thought for a moment. "No. I'm still Stephen. At least for now. Just wanted to wear this."

"Damn, that's a shame," Adrienne muttered. "Let me know if you end up being a girl, because..." She whistled. "I'd tap that."

Stephen blushed fiercely while Theo shouted, "Adrienne, you can't just say something like that!"

When they all went to class, Stephen told Philip, "I told my parents about everything. And more, I guess..." Stephen gestured to his skirt. "They calmed me down and took me shopping and...you were right. I should have just talked about this."

Philip smiled and patted Stephen on the back.

Throughout class, Philip, Stephen, and Georges caught Mary looking in their direction at least seven times. Each time, Stephen folded in on himself more and more.

At the end of class, Mary came over to them. Philip's fists were already clenched. Stephen turned his head down.

"Hey," Mary said softly. "I, um, I know I'm not supposed to talk to you, and I know you don't have to listen, but...I just wanted to say you look nice today." Mary walked away.

Stephen blinked, his lips parting. He looked up, confused. "That...that was it?" He whispered.

"I guess?" Philip responded.

Stephen bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. "Lots of change this time around..."

"Oh, yeah."


	25. Chapter 25

**Let's see how much you remember from the first story.**

* * *

Philip and Angie always stayed the night at their aunts' house on their parents' anniversary. Sometimes, they would go out and do something fun, like go to the movies or an arcade. Sometimes, however, they would just stay inside and relax, maybe bake or play a board game.

"Tía," Angie called out, walking out of the basement, carrying a thick, dusty book.

"Yes, dear?" Eliza responded, placing a tray of cookies in the oven.

"I found a picture album." Angie dropped the book onto the table. "It has our padres' names on it."

Eliza inspected the book. "Oh, it's one of my old scrapbooks. Philip, Angelica, come look." Angelica paused the movie they were watching, and she and Philip went into the kitchen. Eliza opened the scrapbook for everyone to see.

"Why do you have a scrapbook for our parents?" Philip asked.

"I wanted to document their relationship. Angelica and I knew it was going to last." Eliza flipped through the pages, pointing out the pictures. Many were candids, taken when John and Alex didn't notice. One was of them talking and laughing in the corner of a room. The next was of them kissing in the same corner. The next was of them laying together on a couch, asleep. Philip couldn't help but smile at his parents at the beginning of their relationship. They looked so young and excited to be together. Philip was happy that not much had changed.

Eliza got to a page that read "John's Drawings". Her constant smile fell a bit. "Hmm..."

"What is it?" Philip wondered.

"Um...Your parents gave me some pictures that...well, they just didn't want to see them. They reminded your parents of some bad things, so...they gave me the pictures for safe keeping."

"What...what kind of bad things?"

"They've told you about their pasts, right?"

Philip and Angie nodded.

"Those kinds of bad things."

Philip bit his lip as his aunt turned the page. The first pictures weren't drawings at all. One was the torn half of a picture with faded colors of a small boy and his mother. The woman had tan skin, long, dark hair, and a faint smirk. The second picture was in somewhat better quality, and was of a blonde woman cradling an infant and a toddler. The third was of the same woman and the toddler, but the little boy was was older and missing a few teeth.

"Grands-mères," Angie muttered.

"Why wouldn't they want these?" Philip asked. "They loved their moms."

"It gets to be too much for them, sometimes," Eliza said, shrugging and turning the page. It was a drawing, this time, of John's mother. Her hair was colored with yellow and shaded with orange, and her eyes were blue. Her lips and cheeks were tinted pink.

 _"Happiness, bravery, sadness, and familial and platonic love,"_ Philip's father had told him when he was little. Philip thought about that.

The next drawings began to look darker and sadder. Drawings of a little boy cowering in fear, surrounded by vicious, coal black monsters. Paintings of angry red splatters and nothing else. Philip shifted uncomfortably when he saw the pictures.

The last picture they looked at was of a sea turtle colored with the rainbow. The paper was slightly wrinkled, but it still looked nice. Eliza gasped softly.

"Angelica..." Eliza looked at her sister with distressed eyes.

"I forgot about this," Angelica said, peering at the drawing.

"What is it?" Philip asked. "What's wrong with this one?"

"It...not too long after this was drawn, um...well, John almost died to save Alex. He got shot in the side."

Angie tensed next to Philip. "Qué?"

"I'm not surprised they didn't tell you," Angelica continued. "They don't like to talk about it."

"What happened?" Philip pressed.

Angelica glanced at her sister. "You can't tell your parents that we told you."

"Okay."

Angelica and Eliza told the children everything that had happened on that Tuesday the 27th all those years ago.

* * *

"A club, John? Really?" Alexander crossed his arms and glared at his husband.

"What? You don't like the surprise?" John smirked. They had just left dinner at a nice restaurant, and were now standing across from the building that was covered in neon lights.

"No, John. You know I don't like clubs."

"No, you don't like the idea of clubs. Remember when we went to one in college? Remember how much fun we had that night?" John waggled his eyebrows, making Alex's face burn.

"We're adults now. We're too old for-"

"No. No, don't start with that. It's our anniversary. We can do whatever we want."

"Except the hundreds of things we could get arrested for."

"Come on, Alex. When was the last time we had some fun?"

"We have fun all the time."

"I mean _really_ had fun."

Alex tightened his arms around himself.

"Come on, babe. Let's do this. It's a gay place, and we'll be together the entire time, so we don't have to worry about anything. Let's just go in there, get wasted, dance a little, then take an Uber home and stay up until three."

Alex bit his lip and looked at the building for a moment. "Fine," he sighed. The word had barely left his mouth before John pulled him across the street and into the line. They showed the bouncer their I.D.s and paid, then entered the club. It was dark inside, but colorful lights flashed with the loud music. Hundreds of other people were inside, dancing and jumping around and drinking. Alexander leaned into John's arm, which was wrapped around his waist.

"Drinks?" John suggested.

"Yes, please." They went to the bar, standing close to each other. They both had a few shots to start, and Alex relished in the buzz, relaxing a bit.

John led him to the dance floor and held him so close that their chests were touching. John gripped Alex's hips and kissed him passionately. "This is gonna be fun," John whispered.

Time passed without their knowledge of it. For hours, the celebrating spouses drank until they couldn't anymore, and danced until their legs didn't want to work anymore. Every so often, Alexander recalled just how exciting John could be while absolutely drunk. He would say the funniest things, making Alex howl with laughter. Oh, and the way John could move to the music...

It was no surprise that they were all over each other when they decided to leave. Their legs tangled together as they stumbled out of the building.

"Look, look," John snickered, showing Alexander his phone. Alex struggled to read the fuzzy words. "I told the Uber guy that I'd pay him extra to deal with our drunk, gay, horniness." Alex giggled hysterically.

Alex sat in John's lap in the back of the car, making out with him like they were back in college and barely over twenty years old. They got back home at one in the morning. The Uber driver had to remind them to pay before they ran into their house. John kept to his promise and kept Alexander up until three.

* * *

When John woke up the next morning, he decided to not wake up. He rolled over onto his husband more and kept his eyes shut tightly. His head hurt and his stomach hurt and his body hurt and he wanted to go back to sleep. He did, but only for another hour or so. Afterwards, his brain refused to anything but be awake. John glared at the clock on his bedside table for a while, trying to think clearly, at least.

It was already past noon, John finally comprehended. It was much too late of a wake up time. John looked found his phone, squinting at the brightness. An alarm had gone off hours ago. Its label read "Pick up kids".

"Fuck," John groaned. He reluctantly rolled out of bed and slowly got dressed, all while Alexander got to continue sleeping peacefully. John plodded into the hall, starting to call Eliza to apologize for being late. A phone rang in the kitchen. John's eyebrows furrowed as he walked into the room. Philip, Angie, Eliza, and Angelica were in the kitchen, eating lunch. "What..."

"Good afternoon, John," Eliza greeted with a smile.

"Yeah..." John replied. "What are you doing here?"

"We figured that you weren't coming to pick them up after ten."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Did you have fun?" Angelica asked, placing a glass of water on the table for him.

"Oh, yeah." John smirked, gratefully taking the drink.

"What did you do?"

"Went to dinner. Then a club. Got drunk. Etcetera." He winked. Philip cleared his throat. "What?"

"I'll just...let you talk about that..." Philip went to his room. Angie took Philip's unspoken advice and went to her room, as well.

"Smart kids," John mumbled. "How were they?"

"Wonderful," Eliza said, "like always."

"Good."

"We looked at one of my old scrapbooks."

John raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"Saw some of the old pictures you gave us."

John's eyes widened. "You let them look at the drawings?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"We told them about you getting shot," Angelica stated.

John chewed on his fingernail. "How did they react?"

"They were worried about you."

"I'm not surprised."

"They wished you had told them."

"It's not important."

"It seemed important to them."

John sighed.

"We've been thinking," Eliza cut in, "and we think you should have these." She held out a small stack of pictures. The one of Alex's mother, and the rest of John's. _"_ It's better if you have them."

John swallowed heavily and hesitantly took the pictures. "Thank you," he whispered.

A soft _thud_ came from the hall. John hurriedly placed the pictures in the nearest drawer before he went to help Alex. He hoped that Alexander wasn't upset when he saw the picture of his mother in the house, if he ever saw it at all.


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay so bring your kid to work day is technically the fourth Thursday of April or something but it's in the middle of January on a Sunday now because fuck it**

* * *

Philip loved Bring Your Kid to Work Day. It was very fascinating to him, getting to see what his parents' jobs were like. Last year, he and Angie had gone to their dad's work and gotten to see a a small shark give birth. Angie was significantly more interested in that than Philip had been. This year, however, they were going to the firm that Pops worked at.

"So, this is the front door," Pops said as they entered, sounding bored.

"How enthralling," Angie muttered.

"This is the lobby." Pops gestured around the room, then pointed at the receptionist. "That's Pam. She's nice. She has candy." Pam waved.

Pops started to point out some of the other lawyers' offices. "He's an ass, he's an ass, she's annoying, he's a prick, he doesn't know what he's doing. Then Adams, the boss, who's an ass, annoying, a prink, and also doesn't know what he's doing. The Jeffersons-you know them. Don't go in or near either of their offices. There's a good chance that they're having sex in there. And then Burr. I try to avoid all of them as much as possible, and you should too."

"Hey, Hamilton," someone shouted.

"Goddammit." Pops pinched the bridge of his nose as Thomas Jefferson walked up to him.

"I see you brought your kids," Thomas pointed out.

"Yes, I did. Philip is going to be a lawyer, and Angie is shaping up to be smarter than you in three years."

Thomas gave a strained smile. "How nice. Mary is here, too, you know. James is teaching her how to make opening and closing statements."

"That's wonderful. I taught my kids how to do that almost two years ago."

Pops started to turn away, when another person called out, "Philip!"

Philip turned quickly, recognizing Theo's voice. He smiled at her. "Oh, hey, Theo! What are you doing here? I mean, obviously for bring your kid to work day. I mean, I'd assume so. How long have you been here? Do you like it? How are you?"

Theo patiently waited for Philip to finish talking. "I'm doing well. I just got here. Yes, that's why I'm here. I like it just fine so far."

"Good. That's good."

"Why don't you two go hang out?" Pops suggested. "You'll get pretty bored just watching your parents work on computers all day."

Philip nodded rapidly. "Yeah, sounds good. To me, at least. That sound good, Theo? You okay with just hanging out with me?"

"Of course, Philip," Theo responded. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Philip deflated in the inside. "Yeah." Pops was already leading Angie away, promising to give her law books to read. Philip rocked on his heels. "So...um...where's your dad?"

"In his office. He gives awful tours."

"Oh, don't even get me started," Philip chuckled. He began to point out the offices like his father had done. "'He's an ass. She's annoying. He doesn't know what he's doing.'" Theo laughed quietly.

"I'm not surprised. Dad told me to stay away from everyone. Unless you were here."

"Weird."

"How so?"

"It's just...why would he think you'd be safe with me if he clearly doesn't like me?"

"What do you mean? He likes you."

"He's always just...glaring at me when ever he sees me."

"He's just stern, is all. And protective. But he trusts you to keep me safe, so I'd assume that he likes you."

Philip stared at the floor and kicked at the edge of a rug. "Of course I'll keep you safe," he mumbled. _I love you._

"Well, you've certainly been doing a pretty good job of it, so far. I mean, you were defending me in fifth grade when you didn't know anything but my name."

"Well, yeah. I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really like it when people are jerks to people who don't deserve it."

"Surely I and everyone else deserves something bad occasionally."

Philip looked back up at Theo, meeting her eyes. "You don't deserve to have anything bad happen to you, Theo."

Theo turned her head away, combing her hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat. "Well then...I, um...I appreciate the thought."

Philip hooked his arm around Theo's. "Let's go get some candy."

* * *

"I really don't know why you're trusting us with this," Adrienne said, holding up the roll of fabric.

Dad shrugged. "Figure I might as well let you try. Maybe I'll let you work at the shop if you're good enough."

"You could let us work there, regardless. We could be cashiers."

"Maybe..." Dad looked around. "Where did your brother go?"

"Good question." Adrienne rubbed at her necklace. Georges walked in a second later, carrying a squirming Antoinette.

"I have an idea," Georges stated.

"No," Dad said before Georges could continue. "Don't bring the cat in here. She's done enough damage to my things, already."

"But my ideaaaa."

"No."

"Dad, I thought you said you would let us try," Adrienne reminded her father.

"Not if they involve the cat."

"You never sad that."

"I'm saying it now."

"Too late. We're making her a dress."

"A wedding dress," Georges corrected.

"With green accents," Adrienne added.

"To match her eyes."

"Obviously."

Their father shook his head in disappointment. "I can't believe you."

"You should have expected something like this," Adrienne said.

"I feel like I've been betrayed."

"That sucks."

Georges was already finding the cat's measurements.

* * *

"Are you excited?" Stephen's mom asked as she led him into the tall building.

Stephen just shrugged. He noticed that his mother's employees moved out of her way when she walked by. He figured part of the reason was the heels. The way they clicked on the floor seemed so demanding and powerful. Stephen wanted to wear them.

Stephen and his mother went up several floors in the elevator. Once in his mom's office, Stephen sat in one of the large, plush chairs. "What are we doing today?" He asked, not really all that interested. Last time he was here, he was just taught something about money

"Well, I'm going to start on some work in here," Mom said, "then I have a meeting about sales I want you to come to. Then we're going to come back here, because I have..." she looked through some of the papers on her desk, "three people I need to fire."

Stephen pecked up. "Sounds good."

The day went by slowly, with Stephen struggling to find something to do on his phone. He only payed attention to the meeting when his mom was telling an employee why his ideas were terrible and would tank the company. Finally, they went back to Maria's office to start what Stephen figured would be the fun part.

"Just hang out in here for a bit," Mom said, heading back out. "I have to give someone some papers."

Stephen nodded and got comfortable in the chair. Only a moment after his mother had left, a young woman walked in.

"Mrs. Schuyler-Lewis?" The woman called out.

Stephen peered over the back of the chair at her. "You're going to have to wait a minute. She stepped out."

"Oh. Okay." Stephen went back to his phone while the woman sat in the chair next to him. "Who are you?" She inquired. "I haven't seen you here before."

Stephen didn't spare her a glance. "My name is Stephen."

"That's a nice name."

"Thanks."

"So, um...how long have you worked here?"

"I don't. At least not yet."

"Oh. Well, you should. It's great here. Everyone is super nice."

"I'll consider it."

She was quiet for a moment. "Say, are you single?"

Stephen flinched, gaping at the woman. "What?"

"I'm just wondering. You're cute."

"Are you just really stupid or-"

Maria entered the room again, saying, "Helen, you're here. Wonderful. Let's talk." She sat at her desk, slipped her glasses on, and smiled at the other woman.

"Of course. Does he need to be here?" Helen asked, gesturing at Stephen.

"Yes, he does." Maria's smile shifted to a dark smirk. "I'm teaching him about my job. He's my son."

Helen's face went stark white. "What?"

"And that's what we're talking about today." Maria held up a stack of papers. "Each of these papers is a different complaint about you excessively flirting with other employees. You've worked here for a year and a half and this is about 48 complaints. Plus, you just flirted with my sixteen year old son, so there's that, too."

"I was just trying to-"

"Flirt," Stephen interrupted. "You were trying to flirt."

Helen huffed.

Maria continued, "Besides all of that, your work in the past five months have been notably awful, and I can't accept anything less than what I want for this company. Therefore...you know what? Stephen, I've explained this to you, so why don't you try to tell her?"

Stephen grinned and straightened in his chair. "You're fired. You've already been replaced by someone who can do your job far better without any problems. You have an hour from now to gather all your things and leave. Good luck. Goodbye."

Helen scoffed and stood. "Fine. I hated it here, anyway." She stormed out of the room.

"Huh." Maria muttered, "A bit rude, but it got the job done pretty quickly. Well, done."

Stephen smiled proudly. "Thanks."

"Two more to go."

"Let's do this."


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey I need your help at the end of the chapter**

* * *

John had once watched a movie with his family when the kids were younger. He recalled that the title had something to do with a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He couldn't remember what had happened in the movie, but he wondered if any of it was similar to the day he had today.

John started his day by swimming in one of the large fish tanks, feeding the sea creatures. One of the tiger sharks swam up to him, so he pet it and fed it an already dead fish. As the shark swam away, its tail caught on John's breathing tube, knocking it out of his mouth. He inhaled in shock. Water flooded into his mouth and lungs. He quickly crawled to the surface and coughed up the water. As he left the tank, he decided that he wouldn't tell Alexander about what had happened.

Barely three seconds after John had removed his scuba gear and dried off, his walkie-talkie crackled with static. "What's up?" John spoke into the device.

"We've got a turtle who lost a fin," another voice responded. "Need you to operate."

"Got it. I'll be there in a second." John rushed to the other side of building. People were already darting around the operating room, handing each other supplies. John put on his mask, gloves, and coat, then made his way to the table. Where the other doctors were sedating a sea turtle, who was missing part of its back right fin and bleeding profusely.

"Two thirds of the fin was lost," someone said. "Assumedly because of a boat. We're trying to stop the bleeding."

"Good. Get that done." John inspected the turtle's fin, then turned to the nearest doctor, grabbing a scalpel. "I need to make an incision. You need to cauterize it fast."

The doctor nodded. "I got your back, Jack."

John jumped, dropping the scalpel. The name echoed through his mind, along with flashes of fists and screams and tears and blood and pain and John's insolent, evil father.

"What did you just call me?" John whispered, snarling at his coworker. The man looked as if he didn't know what he had just done.

"It's just an expression," he said.

John didn't care. "Don't call me that again." He got a new scalpel and finished the operation.

During his lunch break, John went out to a coffee shop. His need to draw something was like an itch he needed to scratch. Colors and figures danced through his mind, desperate to be put on paper. John fidgeted as he waited in line. There were too many people in front of him, and John worried he wouldn't have time to eat, let alone draw. He sighed and tapped his foot.

When he finally got his food, John sat at a small table next to the front window. He set his bag on the chair next to him, the colorful pins and buttons clicking against the wood. One looked like a turtle shell, one said "Black Lives Matter", a few more were pictures of his family, and the last was his Pride flag.

John opened the brown messenger bag, taking out his sketchbook and drawing pencil. He stretched out a pair of angry eyes, barely eating his lunch.

"Excuse me." John looked up at the two men standing next to his table. One of them pointed at the chair that John's bag was on. "Can we sit there?" He asked.

"Yeah, sorry," John muttered, taking his bag off of the chair.

The other people sat at that table, and John heard one of them quietly say, "Damn gays think they own everything."

John flinched, scratching a line of graphite across his paper. "What?" He growled.

"I wasn't talking to you, dumbass," the man retorted.

John tightly clenched his fists until he felt and heard his pencil crack. He tried to take a deep breath. If he had been in high school, he would have stood up and punched these guys in the face. Unfortunately, now he was an adult, and would get arrested for that. Of course, John was married to a lawyer who hadn't lost a case, yet...

John exhaled and gathered his things, standing to leave. As he walked away, he heard one of the men shout after him, "Yeah, go cry to your mommy about it." John left the building as fast as possible. His nails painfully dug into his palms, but he focused more on keeping his eyes from burning, anymore.

John was an adult, for God's sake. John was supposed to be over his mother's death by now. He had avoided his father for decades, so John shouldn't still be bothered by the man. John was happily married with wonderful children, so he didn't have a reason to feel insecure about his sexuality, anymore. John wasn't the one with a mental disorder, so he didn't have the right to be having a panic attack about this, right now.

John sat in his car for a few minutes, thinking this over. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and went back to work without coming to a conclusion.

* * *

John was absolutely exhausted when he got home. He solemnly took a shower, then went to his room, dropping face first onto his bed. He didn't know how long he lay there, or if he fell asleep at some point. He distantly heard voices, but not what they were saying.

At some point, the door opened, and someone sighed. There were footsteps, then a hand touched the back of John's head.

"What's wrong, John?" Alex asked. He sounded tired, too. He worked all day, everyday. Another reason why John shouldn't feel so distressed. He just shrugged. Alexander sighed again. "The kids said that you've been in here since you got home. I ordered from the pizza place. Got you chicken parmesan." Alex rubbed John's shoulder, trying to sound optimistic.

"Thanks," John mumbled into the pillow.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I just had a bad day."

"You want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's fine."

"Obviously not." Alex sat on the bed and lifted John's head onto his lap, combing his fingers through John's hair. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"It's not that big a deal."

"John..."

"You have bigger problems to deal with."

"That's not necessarily true, and it wouldn't matter, anyway. You still have some problems, regardless. They need to be dealt with, too."

John chewed his lip. "It was just a bad day."

"Why?"

"I just...I got reminded of my past a lot."

Alex frowned, softly running his fingers along John's jaw. "I'm sorry, chéri."

"It's fine. I just got overwhelmed."

Alexander lifted John's head and kissed him. "Everything's okay, John."

"I know. I said I was fine." Alex kissed him again. The doorbell rang.

"That's the food. I'll go get it." Alexander left, then returned a few minutes later with plates of food. "We can just eat in here tonight, huh?"

John smiled faintly for a second. "Okay."

They struggled to manage cuddling while not getting tomato sauce all over the sheets. Five minutes in, Alex's phone rang. He grumbled out a sorry before rushing to his office. John was done eating when Alexander returned, although his plate was still half full.

"I'm so sorry," Alex said, sitting down again. "Adams needs me to do, like, four different things in three days, but...ugh, I've just had to work so much, lately, and it doesn't show any signs of stopping."

John nodded, glancing off to the side. Alex's arms slowly wrapped around him.

"Do you want to talk about your day any more?"

"Not right now."

"Okay." Alex rested his head on John's shoulder, waiting.

* * *

 **Heeeey. Give me some truth or dare things? I'll give a shoutout to the people who's comments I choose.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Thanks to all who participated in truth or dare! Special thanks to FightMeFrenchFry, YouAreAlmostOutOfMilk, and tyozzie123.**

* * *

Philip woke up to the smell of cooking bacon and eggs. He smiled and hopped out of bed, practically skipping to the kitchen. His dad was making breakfast while Angie did geometry homework and Pops searched the living room for a pencil that was behind his ear. Philip sat at the table and excitedly drummed his fingers on the wood. Dad brought him a plate of food and mussed his hair.

"Happy birthday." Dad smiled his signature loving parent smile.

"Thanks," Philip replied, his mouth already full of food. He started to get texts from his friends as they woke up, all of them saying "Happy Birthday", as well. Philip watched his parents kiss before Pops hurried out of the house. "He has to work, today?" Philip wondered.

Dad nodded. "I'm sorry, Pip."

"It's okay. As long as he's home for the cake."

"He should be. He's supposed to bring it home, later."

"Okay."

He waited for an hour or so for his friends to come over. They all showed up around the same time, each giving Philip a hug when they did.

"You're seventeen, now," Theo stated.

"I know," Philip said. "I'm so old." His father scoffed from the other room.

"What are we doing?" Stephen asked, getting comfortable on the couch.

"I don't know," Philip responded. "I figured we'd just kind of hang out."

"Let's play truth or dare," Adrienne suggested. Georges nodded enthusiastically.

"I'd rather not," Stephen grumbled.

"But it'll be fun." Georges shook Stephen's shoulders.

"No," Stephen groaned. "I hate that game. You guys can play, but leave me out."

"You're so boring."

"Oh, well."

The group gathered in a circle on the floor in front of the couch while Stephen stared at his phone.

"Okay," Georges patted his knees, "who starts?" No one spoke. "I will, then." Georges looked around at his friends. "Theo, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Theo answered.

"You're boring, too," Georges huffed. "Who is your favorite Winnie the Pooh character."

Theo thought for a minute. "Rabbit. He enjoys when everything is neat and organized, and I can relate to that."

"How interesting..." Georges muttered.

"Adrienne," Theo said, "truth or dare?"

Adrienne punched the floor. "Dare. Hit me." Georges livened up.

Theo closed her eyes as she thought. "Let us record you dancing to a Katy Perry song and post it to all of your social media."

Adrienne sighed and handed her phone to Georges, who unlocked it and brought up the camera. An old Katy Perry song began from behind them; Stephen was playing it off his phone with a smirk. Adrienne scowled. She _hated_ Katy Perry.

"Smile!" Georges said, pressing record. Adrienne tried. And failed. She was a terrible actor.

"I hate you all," Adrienne grumbled as she danced off-beat to the song. Georges held his necklace and laughed. Adrienne grumpily shook her arms and hips on something that could barely be called dancing.

"At least she's not as bad as Georges," Philip whispered to Theo.

She giggled. "Maybe I should teach them."

Philip thought this over. He knew that Theo danced competitively in tap, ballet, and contemporary, and that she was very good at it. At least, she was the few times Philip watched her perform. He had to stop going to the competitions because there were too many, and watching Theo dance got...distracting...

It was all too jiggly.

Philip swallowed hard and kept his eyes on Adrienne.

When the song was over, Adrienne glowered as Georges posted the video with a caption that read, "I LOVE KATY PERRY!" Adrienne eagerly took her phone back.

"Truth or dare?" She asked Philip.

"Dare," he responded with a smile. "I never back down from a dare."

The ends of Adrienne's mouth curled up in a Grinch-like smirk. "Ask your dad something."

"What?"

After a minute of arguing, Philip was pushed into his dad's art studio in the attic. All his friends stood behind him in anticipation.

Philip hesitated. "U-Um...Dad?"

"Yes, Philip?" His father didn't look away from the canvas he was sketching on.

"Um...I wanted to, uh, know..." Philip got a nudge from Adrienne. "Um...How often do...how often do you and Pops have sex?"

John accidentally ripped the canvas with his pencil, his face blooming red. "Why do you want to know that?"

"I'm just...curious."

"Like hell you are." John turned around, seeing Philip with all his friends. He narrowed his eyes. "Why did you ask me that?"

"I told you, already."

"Uh-huh." John looked past Philip. "Theo, why did he ask me that?"

"Truth or dare," Theo stated.

"Thank you. All of you get out. If you do something like this, again, you'll be grounded for a year."

Philip's friends laughed while they pulled him back down to the living room.

Georges agreed to a dare. Philip went into the kitchen and found a cookie, which Georges got excited about, then a can of mushrooms, which Georges was not excited about. Philip spread a big scoop of the fungus onto the cookie, then handed it to Georges. He reluctantly took a tiny bite, then covered his mouth as he ran to the trash can and spit up for three minutes. He returned to the circle, dazed.

"Okay, I have one," Stephen suddenly spoke up. His friends turned to him. He looked to Philip, a serious look in his eyes. "Truth or dare?"

Philip's stomach dropped, but he wasn't sure why. He ignored it and said, "Dare."

He soon realized that that strange feeling had been a warning.

"Kiss Theo."

Philip burst into flames. "What?" He squeaked.

"You heard me."

Philip glanced at Theo, but quickly looked away again. "I-I'm not going to do that."

"I thought you said you never backed down from a dare."

"I'm not going to...kiss her." This was his chance, a part of Philip told him. But he shook his head. "If she isn't okay with it, then I'm not doing it." Philip crossed his arms defiantly.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Such a gentleman."

"Just give me another dare."

"Go stand outside for five minutes," Stephen sighed.

"Fine." Philip got up and stomped out the back door, standing the patio. He kept his arms crossed in an effort to keep himself warm in the 16 degree (Fahrenheit) weather. He shivered and wiped his eyes to keep any possible tears from freezing on his face.

He couldn't believe his friends, sometimes. Sure, he liked Theo...a lot...but that didn't mean they could suggest that he do something like that.

The back door slid open, and Theo stepped out, holding some clothes. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Philip repeated.

"I brought you a sweatshirt and some gloves."

"Thanks." Philip put them on, getting marginally warmer. Neither of them spoke for a minute.

"I'm sorry," they both said at once. Philip jumped a little.

"Why are you sorry?" Philip asked.

Theo shrugged. "I just feel bad."

"Well, you don't have to be. It's fine."

"Your face is still red."

"Yeah, I figured."

Theo watched the snow softly fall. "You didn't have to disagree, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"It was just a stupid dare."

"Yeah, it was stupid, but it wasn't just..." Philip sighed. "It's not just a dare, okay? And Stephen should know that after what Mary did."

"This is...a different situation." Theo herself sounded skeptical.

"How?"

"We're all friends."

"You can't tell me that you wouldn't have minded. People can't just do that to other people. That's why I'm so protective over you. I'm not about to let those asses do something awful to you, so why would I do the same?" Philip had to hold back from shouting.

"Philip..." Theo bit her lip. "I..." She exhaled, her breath fogging in front of her. "You know how I am. I don't always say what's on my mind if I don't think it's necessary or if it could cause trouble."

"You get it from your parents," Philip added in.

"I know. The point is...I wanted to tell you something...important."

"What is-" Philip heard footsteps crunching in the snow. He turned towards the sound, then gasped and stood close to Theo just before a snowball hit his back. Theo covered her mouth in shock, and then to mask her giggles.

"You've got a minute to prepare," Stephen yelled, "before we start a full on assault."

Philip nodded in determination before grabbing Theo's arm and dragging her to the back of the yard. Without speaking, they both knew to start building a fort that curved around them. As soon as that was finished, they rapidly built snowballs and lined them up. While they worked, they noticed the other two forts on the sides of the yard. Behind one were the twins, and behind the other were Stephen and Angie.

"You betrayed me?" Philip shouted to his sister.

"Stephen is smarter than you," Angie replied.

"That's fair." Philip got a snowball to the side of the head. Adrienne and Georges howled with laughter. "Oh, it's on!"

The battle begun. Philip threw snowballs at his friends almost as fast as Theo was making them. He was the designated offense because he played baseball and was therefore used to throwing things. Theo worked with the snow, because she had figured out the perfect size to make the snowballs and how to properly pack them, as long as how to keep the fort standing. Unfortunately, Stephen and Angie's team was exactly the same. The two pairs went all out on each other, while the twins just threw their harmless weapons without a plan.

"Philip," Theo said, "if you stay out here any longer, you might lose your fingers."

Philip decided not to question her. "Okay, well, we're kind of in the middle of being attacked."

"We could call a truce. Or surrender."

"Never!" Philip hit Stephen in the face with a wad of snow.

"Well, what's your plan, then?"

"We run for it."

"While being fired on from both sides?"

"I'll take the hits for you."

"How? We'll be fired on from both sides-" Theo yelped when Philip lifted her up bridal style, then broke into a sprint. He held Theo as close to his chest as possible, determined to keep her safe. Philip set Theo down when they got to the house and covered her back as she opened the door. They rushed inside so fast that they tripped and fell over each other. Philip barely caught himself before he crushed Theo. He hovered over her for a moment, hands on either side of her head. He stared at her, being too close. Theo was staring at him, too, eyes wide and lips parted.

"Um...sorry..." Philip hurriedly stood, taking Theo's hand and helping her up. She was still staring at him. He felt his palms sweat, even though he was still cold. "Uh-"

"You have snow in your hair," Theo blurted.

"Um. Yeah. You do, too. It...looks nice." Philip cringed at his own words. "I-I mean-"

"They're talking about something out there," Theo said, glancing behind Philip. "We should hide."

"Okay." Philip took Theo's hand, again, and led her to the closet in the hallway.

When the door closed them in, Theo whispered, "I'm freezing." It was too dark for Philip to see her, but he still reached out and pulled her into an all-encompassing hug. "Oh," Theo muttered.

"Today has been fun," Philip said quietly, subsequently in Theo's ear. "For the most part, at least."

"Yeah. Your birthdays always are."

Philip chuckled a bit. "Thanks?" He felt Theo's hands slide up to his shoulders.

"You always make everything so great, Pip."

"I don't know about that."

"Don't say that. You do."

"Okay."

"You agree with me a lot."

"You're always right," was Philip's excuse.

"That's not true."

"You're right 98 percent of the time."

"That's better." Theo rested her head on Philip's shoulder, her nose touching his neck. He wondered if she could hear his hammering heartbeat as much as he could feel it.

"H-Hey, Theo?"

She took her head off of him, assumedly to look at him. "Yes?" Philip could feel her breath on his chin.

"U-Uhm-"

The door suddenly opened from the outside. Stephen and the twins stood there, their eyebrows raised.

"We ended the snowball fight, you know," Stephen said. "You didn't have to hide." He paused and smirked faintly. "Unless you just wanted to have a special birthday make out session."

Theo jolted and let go of Philip, then pushed past her friends to get into the hall. "We weren't-we didn't-we weren't doing anything like that!" Theo argued, her arms crossed and her face flushed.

"Uh-huh."

"We weren't!"

"We weren't," Philip agreed.

Stephen tossed up his arms. "Okay, whatever. But you were awfully close in that closet..."

"Shut up, Stephen!"

Stephen and the twins laughed. "Do you have any more cookies?" Georges asked, already moving towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, probably," Philip replied. "Help yourself." Adrienne and Stephen helped Georges raid the kitchen. While they were distracted, Philip walked over to Theo, who stood in the corner and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hey, are you okay?" Philip asked. "I'm sorry about that. I...shouldn't have decided to hide in the closet. Of course they would think-"

"It's fine," Theo interrupted gruffly. "I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have done a lot today."

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't know by now, then..." Theo shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm alright."

Philip bit his lip. "You know they're just messing around, right? They don't actually think that we...I mean, they don't have any real reason to, so-"

"I know, Philip. Stop talking about it."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

Theo huffed, took a deep breath, then calmly joined the rest of her friends in the kitchen. Philip rubbed his neck where Theo had been, hating that he missed the feeling that Theo so desperately avoided.


	29. Chapter 29

**TW: racist, sexist, and homophobic bullshit**

Theo and her friends were in debate club, along with Mary and a few other people. It was fun and good practice for any future careers in law or politics. Also, it was the only time Theo was encouraged to argue.

Their next debate match was against a prestigious school upstate. Their team consisted of seven boys and two girls who all wore formal uniforms. Theo's team had four girls and five boys, and their uniforms were just matching polo shirts.

Theo met up with Philip before the match started. He was chewing his lip and fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"What's wrong?" Theo wondered.

"Nothing," Philip replied.

"That's not true."

"Pops is late," Philip said. "He's never late for debate."

Theo frowned a bit. "He probably just got caught up at work or stuck in traffic."

"I know." Philip flinched when Theo patted his arm.

"Come on, we have to go out there." They walked onto the stage together, where the other competitors were gathering. They took their seats and waited for the judges to finish speaking to the audience. While they did, Theo saw the door open and Mr. Hamilton hurry into the room. Philip noticeably relaxed.

They started with the one-on-one debates. Stephen went first. He always got straight to the point. When he sat back down, Mary quietly congratulated him, and Stephen fidgeted for the rest of the match.

After the single debates came the group debates. Theo and Philip were partnered up against two of the other team's boys. They received a topic that involved the foster care system. Theo and Philip offhandedly mentioned that the foster care system allowed gay couples to try being parents. Even without that, they would have won easily, which they did. In fact, they won the whole competition that day.

When the match was over, the kids' parents congratulated them on doing a good job, which reminded Theo that she had to do something that she always did: be overly polite.

Theo made her way through the large room, searching for the other team. She smiled when she found them closer to the exit.

"Excuse me," she started, getting their attention. The group turned to her, sizing her up. "Hello. I just wanted to say that you all did a really good job today."

The blond boy in the front rose an eyebrow at Theo. "Why are you talking to us?" He grumbled.

"I just wanted to congratulate you." Theo wondered why the boy hadn't figured that out. "You're all clearly smart. You could have definitely won if-"

"Yeah, if you weren't better than us, we get it. Eff off already."

"I wasn't going to say that. I thought you did very well."

One of the other boys nudged the first with a grin, saying, "Chill, Fredrick. She obviously just wants to fuck. Let her have this." The first boy snickered while Theo blushed furiously. "You should go for it. What's that saying? Once you go black you never go back." The whole group laughed this time.

" _Excuse me?_ " Theo squealed. She had never really been ashamed of her darker skin before, but now...

They were still laughing. Theo huffed, "I regret ever complimenting you." She turned on her heel and stomped off.

Philip must have noticed her pouting when she returned to him. "What's wrong?" He questioned.

"Nothing," Theo replied.

"Theo-"

"It's fine, Philip." Theo looked around. "Where's everyone else?"

Philip sighed. "They headed out to the cars, already. We decided to wait for you."

"Okay. Let's leave. I...I need to think. Or sleep. Or both."

Philip nodded and led the way out, concern still covering his face. As they walked towards the door, Theo did something she almost never did. Actually, she didn't do something that she almost always did.

She didn't think.

"They were asses."

"What?" Philip asked.

"I tried to be nice and say they were smart, but they...I can't even explain it. They were just awful to me."

Philip clenched his fists and set his jaw. "Where are they?"

"Philip, you don't have to do anything. It's fine."

"Like hell it is. No one can just be mean to my Th-my friends and get away with it." Philip glanced at Theo. "Give me their names."

"I don't...Fredrick?"

"King," Philip growled. The group was in Philip's line of sight, now. Theo struggled to keep up with him.

"Philip, please-"

"Hey," Philip shouted at the other kids. They turned to him. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Fredrick cocked his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. "The fuck are you?"

"The person who's about to beat your ass-"

Theo grabbed the back of Philip's shirt to hold him back. "Philip, stop."

Fredrick's eyes caught on Theo. "Hey, you. Still wanna fuck?"

Philip flinched. Theo glared at Fredrick. "I never did and never will."

"Really? Didn't seem like that when you were flirting with me earlier."

"Complimenting isn't inherently flirting!"

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead and use that excuse."

"It's not an excuse."

"Just leave her alone," Philip cut in.

"This your boyfriend?" Fredrick asked Theo. "You can do better than that. Besides, he's probably gay."

"He's not-" Theo shook her head. "What would it matter if he was gay?"

"Oh, yeah...you care about that shit, too. What is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Gay people are gross. And they certainly shouldn't have kids like you said."

Theo stepped in front of Philip. "First of all, _you're_ the gross one. Second of all, there's nothing wrong with them."

"Do you seriously want to argue about this?"

Theo didn't think, again. "Yes."

"Fine. But you're probably going to agree with me by the end of it. Maybe even try to kiss me." Fredrick winked.

"I'm more likely to punch you by the end of it."

"Sure."

Theo took in a breath and started the debate. "What could possibly be wrong with same-sex couples?"

"They're gross."

"That's not a legitimate reason."

"Alright, they're unholy. The Bible says gay couples will go to hell."

"Not nearly as many people worship the Bible, now, so that matters less and less to people. Besides, that section is filled with things we supposedly shouldn't do, like eat seafood, and it all ends up being refuted, later, anyway."

"That doesn't mean that it isn't wrong. We've only allowed straight couples for millennia."

"Just because something is common doesn't mean it's right. Just look at slavery-"

"Of course you'd bring that up."

"It's an example."

"You only used it because you're black and want pity."

"That's not-"

"Sure it's not. Listen, I get you're from the ghetto or whatever-"

"I'm not."

"If you weren't, then you wouldn't have flirted with me like a ho."

"I didn't do that," Theo snarled.

Fredrick sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, just admit that you lost, already. You aren't making good points, and you know it."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Do you even actually believe in what you said? People like you like to pretend that you're so woke or some shit."

Theo tripped up. She stuttered. Philip sucked in a breath, thinking, _It's fine. Her brain just moved faster that her voice. She doesn't really-_

"Fine," Theo grumbled. "You're right, okay? I don't actually like...people like that, and...I really was...flirting with you." She exhaled.

Philip's heart shattered. His fists unfurled and his eyes began to burn.

Fredrick smirked. "That's what I thought."

"Well, I guess we know who won." Theo took a step towards Fredrick.

"Yes, we do."

Philip couldn't believe this. He couldn't take it. He looked away-

Theo caught everyone by surprise when she reeled back and punched Fredrick in the jaw as hard as she could. Philip gasped. _No way._

"What the hell?" Fredrick yelled, cradling his face.

"People like _you_ never question when people agree with you," Theo retorted. "You'll believe anything that you like, even if it's a blatant lie." Philip smiled, his heart fluttering in relief. Theo turned to him. "Let's go, already." Philip nodded and followed her out like a puppy. He barely kept from drooling like a dog, too.

"Theo," Philip gasped, "that was...that was..."

"Crazy," Theo finished.

"I can't believe you just did that."

"Neither can I."

"You _never_ argue like that. And you definitely don't punch people."

"I know, Philip." Theo stared down at her hands.

"I mean, it was incredible," Philip quickly said.

"Thank you, Philip."

"Do you...are you okay?"

Theo looked up at him, smiling softly. "I feel great."

"Are you...being sarcastic?"

"No."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes. I feel...I don't know...relaxed? I've never done that before: fully spoke my mind. It's invigorating. I feel like I can actually do things now."

"Well, you could always do anything," Philip muttered.

"I mean that I feel braver, now. I...I want to do that more."

"You can. You should. You're so smart. It's incredible."

Theo looked at Philip for a moment. His chest weighed down with awkwardness, so he turned away. They were in the parking lot, now, and just ahead of them were their friends and family.

"What took you so long?" Stephen asked, crossing his arms.

"The other team was being rude to Theo," Philip explained. "She took care of it pretty well."

"Of course she did," Mr. Burr agreed proudly. "And calmly, I presume."

Philip pursed his lips. "Yup."

"Good. Theo, time to go," Burr said. Theo wasn't paying attention to him, though. She was focused on the pavement, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Theo."

Theo looked up, but turned to Philip. "Hey, Philip?"

"Yes?" Philip answered, already completely enthralled.

"Do you want to go out with me?"

Philip felt his brain short circuit. His eyelid twitched as he started to fall backwards from lightheadedness. Someone caught him and held him up.

"Jesus," Stephen mumbled. "Get your shit together, dude."

"Um...Philip?" Theo anxiously fidgeted. "Are you okay?"

Philip could only babble for a minute. "I-no, no, yes-I mean, yes-I mean, I-I-I would love to!" He cleared his throat. "I would love to."

Theo smiled. "Okay. Does Saturday work?"

"Definitely! Yeah. Dinner? Movie? What do you-"

"That sounds great, Philip."

"Cool," Philip laughed nervously.

"Theodosia." Mr. Burr's voice was stern. Theo hurried to go with her father, who threw a glare over his shoulder at Philip.

Philip waved at Theo's back as she walked away. When she was out of sight, Philip sighed happily.

His dad stepped forward, grinning. "So..."

"YES!" Philip jumped and punched the air. He danced around unashamedly while singing, "Oh snap! Who's that? Don't touch me, I'm too hot! Yes! Que paso? Here I go! So dope! Y tu lo sabes! No pare Sigue sigue! Did you see me? Freaky Freakit!" Adrienne and Georges began dancing with him. Stephen and the parents all smiled. Eventually, Philip's movements began to slow as his mind grew faint. He started to babble like a baby, again. "Uh...um...ju-I-my-uhgh..."

"Okay, killer, sit down," John said. Philip dropped down onto the hood of the nearest car, giggling hysterically. "Let's get you home, kid. You can think about Theo there."

"Oh, God, John," Alexander gagged. "Please don't tell him to do that."

* * *

 _They were dancing. Theo was wearing the most beautiful gown of them all. It was violet to match Philip's suit jacket. They glided over the ballroom floor, gazing into each other's eyes._

 _"You look stunning tonight," Philip said._

 _Theo shyly looked away. "Wow. Thank you, Philip. That's so sweet of you to say. You're so kind and funny and smart and strong and-"_

 _"Theo, please, you're too nice."_

 _"It's all true. That's why I've been dating you all these years."_

 _"Well, if you still like me that much..." Philip twirled her, watching her large skirt flutter and listening to her tinkling laugh. Philip pulled Theo in close, dipping her. "Will you marry me?"_

 _"Oh, Philip!" Theo dramatically held the back of her hand to her forehead. "You can't be serious! Me?"_

 _"Yes. I love you, Theo. Please, do me the honor of being with me forever."_

 _"Oh, Philip, of course! I've always wanted to marry you!"  
_

 _Philip smiled. "Kiss me, my darling." Theo nodded as Philip gently brought her closer, closer, closer. Philip could feel Theo's breath on his lips. They closed their eyes and-_

"What are you doing?"

Philip shrieked and chucked the pillow he was holding back onto his bed. His dad looked at him questioningly. "Nothing," Philip hurriedly replied.

"Right..." Dad sighed. "Don't...don't make out with your pillow."

"I wasn't going to!"

"You're a mess, Philip."

"I'm not-"

"You were dancing with a pillow and calling it Theo."

Philip blushed darkly.

"Listen, Pip," Dad walked into the room and sat on the bed. Philip did the same. "I'm really happy that you're finally going to date Theo-it's taken way too long-but you have to calm down a little. This isn't going to work out well if you're constantly freaking out about it."

"I-I know, Dad. But...I can't help it. I just love her so much and...I don't know...I just get all weird around her, you know?"

Dad smiled faintly. "I know. Just...try to stay calm during your date, alright? I don't want this to go wrong...she makes you so happy."

Philip swallowed heavily at the thought of ruining this relationship with his nervousness. "I'll try my best."

Dad patted Philip's knee and stood. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks, Dad."

Dad left the room. Philip sighed and glanced at his pillow, then looked away, pretending he hadn't seen Theo laying on his bed, instead.


	30. Chapter 30

Philip was dreaming about Theo, again. They were sitting together on a bench near the street, Theo with her head on Philip's shoulder. They held hands and watched the cars go by. Everything was peaceful.

A car honk startled Philip awake. His dad was knocking on his bedroom's door telling him to get up. Philip groaned and rubbed his eyes, padding over to his door. When he opened it, his father wasn't there, and he realized that the knocking came from his window. Philip narrowed his eyes and hesitantly moved to the other side of the room. He opened the blinds, then promptly shrieked and jumped back.

Georges was standing there, his face against the glass, shouting, "Get up, loser! We're going shopping! For real, this time."

Philip sighed and opened the window. "What are you doing?"

"Stephen and I are taking you shopping," Georges said. "Your date is tonight, yeah?"

Philip gasped. "I'll be out in five minutes." He slammed his window closed, then rushed to get ready. He threw on some random clothes and grabbed a granola bar for breakfast before running out to Stephen's car. Philip dove into the backseat, and off they went.

"Are you excited?" Georges turned around to ask. Philip nodded a little to much.

"Nervous?" Stephen wondered. Philip nodded again.

"Don't be. You'll be fine," Georges assured.

"I don't know," Philip muttered. "If I do anything wrong, I'm screwed. And if we break up, it'll be too awkward for us to still be friends, anymore." Philip bit his lip so hard that it bled. He winced at the taste of copper.

Stephen sighed deeply. "You're a fucking idiot, Philip."

"Thanks."

" _She_ asked _you_ out, which means _she_ has to prove herself to _you_."

"But-"

"Also, you clearly didn't pick up on when I said that you're the only reason she isn't aromantic."

Philip's face flushed. He cleared his throat and looked out the window. "I doubt that." Stephen rolled his eyes at Philip in the rear view mirror.

The mall was already crowded with people. The three boys went to a clothing store, and Stephen held Philip back before he could start looking for clothes.

"Blues and purples," Stephen said. "Button-ups only. And it has to _fit_ , for the love of God."

"Okay, okay," Philip huffed. Stephen let him go, smiling like a proud mother.

"If they break up, I'm never talking to them again."

Georges giggled. "Are you jealous of them?"

Stephen looked at Georges in confusion. "No. Why would I be jealous?"

Georges shrugged. "Your best friend is dating someone, now. He won't be able to hang out with you nearly as much anymore."

"I've been waiting for them to get together since middle school. I'm not jealous." Stephen paused. "Are you jealous?"

"A little." They watched Philip almost knock over a rack of clothes, then panic and drop the shirts he was holding. "He'll be with Theo all the time, you don't particularly like being around people, and Adrienne is dead set on getting a girlfriend this year. Who am I supposed to hang out with?" Georges was fidgeting with his necklace and smiling blankly.

"Dude, are you okay?" Stephen asked softly. Georges smiled wider.

"Of course."

Stephen pursed his lips, but Philip ran up before he could say anything.

"Okay, how about this one?" Philip held up a light blue dress shirt with a purple, green, and dark blue plaid pattern on it. "It fits me. I really like it. Do you think Theo will like it? Should I ask her?"

"No," Stephen hurried to say. "She'll think it looks great. Did you get any pants?"

Philip's face dropped as he groaned. "No."

"Hurry up, then." Stephen snapped his fingers. Philip ran off, again, wondering if Theo had to go through this, too.

* * *

Philip cursed his dad for giving him crazy hair. Why couldn't he have had Eliza's hair, instead? It would have been s much easier to deal with. Unfortunately, he had a rat's next on his head that was impossible to run a comb through. Was it really too much to ask to look nice for his first date?

Angie was watching him struggle from their shared bathroom's doorway. She had been standing there for at least five minutes, not speaking as she observed. Philip was already too stressed for that.

"What do you"

"Why didn't you ask her out?" Angie asked as if Philip hadn't been talking.

Philip stuttered as his face burned. "I-I didn't know that she liked me."

"Did you ever ask her about that?"

"No. I'm not just going to ask someone that. Especially someone I like."

"How are you supposed to know how someone feels if you never try to find out?"

"I..."

" _Idiota_." Angie shook her head and walked out. Philip sighed and tugged the comb out of his hair. A moment later, Angie returned, saying, "You're cinq minutos late."

Philip yelped and dropped his comb, then stumbled as he sprinted around the house, finishing getting ready. He gathered his things, then hopped in place while he waited for his dad to give him some money. He really needed to get a job...

Philip hurried out to his car, back inside to grab his keys, and back to his car, then rushed to Theo's house.

When he pulled into the driveway, Philip found that he was hyperventilating. He took a deep breath-several, actually-to help him calm down. He stepped out of his car and up to the front door. Philip stood up as straight as he could, then knocked on the door. He waited fifteen seconds before the door opened.

Mr. Burr stood there, staring intensely at Philip. Neither of them spoke for a moment. Philip awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Uh...hello, Sir," Philip squeaked. "I'm, um, here to pick up Theo for...for, um-"

"I know," Mr. Burr said. Philip tensed. This man was scary.

"U-Um...is she-"

"She gets home be ten-thirty, and if anything happens to her, it's your fault."

Philip gulped heavily. "Yes, Sir."

From behind Mr. Burr came fast footsteps going down the stairs. Theo emerged from the hall, smiling and waving at Philip, who lost his breath for the eighth time in five minutes. Theo was dressed in what Philip recognized as one of Adrienne's old dresses; it was a navy blue, knee length sweater dress with a knit look to it. Theo's hair was wavy, as if it had just been released from a braid. Philip gaped at her while she slipped on a pair of flats and got a purse. Once she was ready, Theo gave her father a hug and stepped outside, standing in front of Philip.

After the door closed, Philip said, "You look...incredible..." his voice no more than a whisper. His volume rose when he tried to correct himself with "But you always look incredible, so I'm not saying that you usually don't. I just mean you look extra good, right now, is all." He smiled awkwardly, hoping he hadn't upset her.

Theo giggled and shook her head. "You don't have to do that, you know."

Philip cringed and looked at the ground. "Sorry. I just...I don't want to accidentally say the wrong thing and upset you."

"It would certainly be a feat if you managed to upset me."

Philip bit his lip. "Okay."

Theo brushed her fingers against the back of Philip's hand. "You look incredible, too, Philip." A bolt of excited shock went up Philip's back."

"Thanks."

Theo smiled. "Let's get going, okay?"

Philip nodded quickly. He led Theo to his car and opened the passenger door for her, then ran around to the driver's seat. He fumbled around with the car's controls for a moment before remembering how it all worked.

The moment they were on the street, Theo asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Very," Philip breathed.

"Why?"

" _Why?_ " Philip caught his sass. "Sorry. It's just...I...I've liked you since...since the first time I saw you, I think. Actually going out with you is...it's crazy, you know?" There was no way Philip wasn't blushing after his confession.

"I know. And...I know you liked me."

" _What?_ " Philip jolted, making the car swerve.

"Philip!" Theo cried out. "Be careful."

"Sorry, sorry, just... _you knew?_ "

"Well, yeah. You aren't very discreet."

"I...I thought...I didn't know you knew."

"I know. I wasn't planning on telling you until I figured out how I felt about you. I didn't realize that it would take six and a half years to do so."

"You...you thought about it?"

"Obviously, Philip. I wouldn't have asked you out otherwise."

"Right."

"Just don't be nervous, okay?"

"I'll try."

"I don't plan on leaving you after one bad date, so if something goes wrong, it-"

"I don't plan on anything going wrong."

"Considering the day, everything might be hectic."

"I can handle one Saturday."

Theo sounded like she was going to say something else, but went silent when they pulled into the theater's parking lot. Philip parked, then ran to the other side of the car to open the door for Theo.

"You don't need to do that," Theo said as she stepped out of the car.

"I-I know," Philip mumbled. Theo had already started to walk towards the large building. Philip hurried to catch up to her. "So, uh, what movie do you want to see?"

"I don't know."

"How about a romantic comedy?" Philip sheepishly asked. "Or a regular comedy? A horror movie? A sad one? A-"

"Let's just see what's out."

"Okay." Philip fidgeted with the bottom button on his shirt.

The theater was packed with people. Most appeared to be couples. Philip recalled Theo saying that the theater had a deal for couples that night. Unfortunately, as the light up billboard showed, the high amount of people caused most of the good movies to be sold out.

"What's wrong, Philip?" Theo asked while inspecting Philip's frown.

"All the movies are sold out," Philip pouted.

"That's not true. There's plenty of open ones, still."

"But...none of those are date movies."

Theo scoffed. "Says the person who's never been on a date."

Philip pursed his lips. "You haven't, either."

"Oh, haven't I?"

Philip stared at Theo.

"Okay, okay, I haven't. But we don't have to watch a specific type of movie just because we're on a date. Let's just try to have a nice time."

"But..." Philip exhaled. "Okay..."

They ended up watching the newest Lego movie. It was...surprisingly good. It was funny, action packed, and heart wrenching at times. Theo seemed to be happy with watching it, so Philip was happy with it.

Philip planned to take Theo to a semi-formal restaurant for dinner, but the first place had no open parking spaces when they got there. Philip just held the steering wheel tighter and found somewhere else.

"Philip," Theo said quietly, "I don't mind where we go. I'm sure a lot of places will be busy."

"No, I'll find somewhere nice," Philip promised.

Theo sighed. "You're so stubborn."

Philip didn't respond. He knew Theo was right.

Philip eventually spotted a suitable restaurant and led Theo in. The front entrance alone was full of people, which only enhanced Philip's anxiousness. He stepped up to the front desk to speak to the server.

"Um, do you have any tables?" Philip asked, tapping his fingers on the desk.

The server frowned. "Not now, unfortunately. We have an hour and a half wait, right now."

"Hour and a half?" Philip gasped.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"We can't wait that long."

"Philip," Theo hissed. He ignored her.

"I apologize, Sir, but on a night like tonight..."

Philip huffed. his fists shaking at his sides. Theo stepped forward before Philip could speak again. "We understand. We shouldn't expect anything different tonight. We can just find somewhere else to go." Philip had a bad feeling that Theo's comments had been pointed at him. He flinched when Theo grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the building.

They walked back to the car in silence. Theo stopped Philip from starting the car with a simple, stern, "Wait."

Philip nodded and stared down at his lap. "'M sorry," he whispered. "I...I just wanted it to be perfect."

"It doesn't need to be perfect," Theo said.

"But-"

"Philip, we've been friends for years. We can have a good time doing nothing. We can figure something out, but you don't have to get stressed and angry if it isn't _perfect_."

Philip stayed quiet.

Theo reached over and patted his knee. "We still have a couple hours. I know a place we can go."

Philip nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Okay."

* * *

"The...pizza place?" Philip cringed slightly. The last time he was here was homecoming night, and he figured it wasn't really a date kind of restaurant.

"Yeah," Theo responded. "It's not terribly busy. We had our first date here."

Philip sputtered. "But this is our first date."

"Sure. Sit down, Philip."

Philip did as he was told and waited while Theo ordered food for them. Dad was right, Philip realized. His panicking and stressing over making everything flawless for Theo would be the downfall of their relationship. That was the last thing Philip wanted.

Theo returned to the table and sat across from Philip, smiling softly at him. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Philip, but nothing is perfect. Especially not first dates."

Philip drew circles on the table with his finger. "That's not true. You're perfect."

Theo's cheeks were pink, but she continued as if Philip hadn't spoken. "I suppose it is partially my fault that I chose a stressful night for our first date, but I still think tonight hasn't been all that bad."

"Why does everyone keep acting like today has some magic prophecy on it?" Philip grumbled.

"What?"

"It seems like this specific day has been extra stressful for everyone..."

"Philip, are you serious?"

"What?"

Theo started laughing. Philip blushed.

"What did I do?"

"This explains a lot." Theo massaged her face.

"What is it?"

"Pip...it's Valentine's Day."

Philip felt his lungs go empty. "What?" Theo giggled again as a reply. "Oh, God...why did no one tell me? If I had known, I would have planned better. I'm so sorry...I-I'll make it up to you, I swear-"

"No, no, no. Don't do that," Theo pleaded. "At least not now. Let's just finish tonight off strong."

Philip smiled awkwardly. "Okay."

* * *

Philip brought Theo home a half hour before her curfew, which her father seemed happy about. Theo gave Philip a hug before they parted ways, and Philip realized that Theo smelled like lilacs. He wished he had noticed that earlier.

"Tonight was nice," Theo said. "Thanks for going out with me, I guess."

"Well, yeah," Philip scoffed. "Of course I would go out with you."

"I know." Theo stepped back and dropped her arms, keeping a hold on Philip's hands.

"So...can we..."

"Yes, we can go out, again."

Philip grinned. "Cool."

Theo squeezed Philip's hands. "I'll text you tomorrow. We can talk about it then."

Philip nodded and waved as Theo let go of him and went inside. He felt a warm buzz in his chest during his whole ride home. He was in a daze while he walked into his house and to his room.

He had trouble falling asleep that night, because his pillow didn't smell like lilacs.


	31. Chapter 31

Gil loved being a teacher. He felt such a thrill when he was able to teach something that the students didn't know. The students themselves were precious angels in Gil's eyes. Gil's first hour class was his favorite.

"So, funny story," Gil said to start the day. His class quieted and listened. "My cat was laying on my husband's face when he woke up, and he thought he was blind for a second. He freaked out and accidentally threw Antoinette halfway across the bed. Then, she freaked out and ran so fast she hit the wall."

The students laughed. Gil was so happy they didn't mind that he had a husband or was gay; it was so rare to have a fully supportive class like this one.

Gil started class properly, beginning to talk about the Latin American wars of independence, when the door to his classroom opened. One of the English teachers, Ms. Hoff, walked in, holding a stack of papers.

"Bonjour," Gil greeted with a cheerful smile.

Ms. Hoff hated him. "Someone," she grumbled, "put all your papers in my mailbox. Again."

"Well, that's clearly something you should talk to them about," Gil said, polite with a hint of sass, as he took his papers.

"It's _your_ mailbox."

"Ah, oui, but I am not the one in charge of organizing them."

Ms. Hoff stomped out of the room as a response.

"Always a pleasure," Gil muttered, dropping the stack of papers onto his desk.

A girl named Annabeth raised her hand. "Ms. Hoff doesn't like you, does she?"

Gil exhaled. "No, not really."

"Why not?" Annabeth's boyfriend, Percy, shouted out, "You're awesome!"

"Yes, well, not everyone agrees."

"Is it because of your sexuality?" Annabeth wondered.

Gil nodded. "She told me to take my flag down, once."

"What?" Yelled a girl named Clarisse. "But a flag shows so much spirit and bravery and passion and-"

"That's so stupid of her," Percy growled, fidgeting with his pen.

"C'est la vie," Gil shrugged. "Let's discuss this some other time and start class, yet?" The students groaned.

* * *

Gil was called down to the office during this lunch hour. He assumed it was because he had to collect more papers, and was quite surprised when that wasn't the case.

In the vice principal's office stood an angry Ms. Hoff, who was glaring at the students Percy and Clarisse. Gil had a sinking feeling that he knew what had happened.

"Mr. Mulligan," the vice principal said. Gil bit back the French voice in the back of his mind that corrected the "Mister" with "Monsieur".

"Yes, Sir?" Gil replied. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ms. Hoff has told me that these students," the vice principal gestured to Percy and Clarisse, "have been harassing her. Supposedly, you told them to do so."

The students and other teacher all began talking before Gil could respond or even fully react.

"Wait, wait, wait." Gil held up his hands in an effort to quiet the room. Surprisingly, it worked. "What do you mean by 'harassing'?"

"They yelled at me for half of class," Ms. Hoff whined, "All they did was call me horrible things, because I don't particularly like Mr. Mulligan."

"You have no reason to not like him," Percy argued.

"And _you_ have no reason to call me a bigot."

"We most certainly have a reason for calling you that."

"We also have reasons for calling you a bitch and a horrible teacher," Clarisse added.

"Children," Gil gasped. "Don't say that to a teacher."

"But it's true."

Gil sighed. "Everyone has the right to like or dislike whoever they want. Being rude will do nothing to change their minds."

"That's what Annabeth said," Percy murmured.

"She is right. You cannot act like this."

"So," the vice principal returned to the main topic, "I take that it is true that you did not tell them to say all this to Ms. Hoff?"

"Yes, that is true." Gil pointed a minuscule glare at Ms. Hoff, who did the same to him.

"Well, in that case, I will continue talking to the kids about this."

"I hope they won't have too harsh of a punishment..."

"Two detentions for both."

"Oh, that's not too bad." Gil smiled, always an optimist. Ms. Hoff rolled her eyes and hurried out of the room as soon as she could.

Gil made cookies for the class the next day to show his appreciation for their support. He also told them to never do something like that again.

* * *

 **Ha I hate this chapter**


	32. Chapter 32

**I sure hope everyone knows what Beauty and the Beast is...**

Every year, Philip and his friends participated in the school's musical. They always had so much fun with the singing and dancing and crazy characters.

Although they were in choir, Adrienne and Stephen preferred not being in the show, but we're instead in tech crew and stage crew, respectively. Still, they loved being able to help the show run smoothly.

Georges and usually a supporting character, while Philip liked to try out for the leads. Theo was usually more comfortable with being in the background.

This year, however, Theo was trying something new.

"I want to go out for the lead," Theo said. "I've been thinking about it after that whole 'new me' revelation. I think it might be...fun?"

Philip's face broke into a wide smile. "You should definitely try for it! You'll get it for sure."

"I highly doubt that." Still, Theo smiled.

The cast list list was put up a week after auditions. Not many people were surprised when Philip got the lead of the Beast. Gil just about cried in joy when George's said he had gotten the role of Lumiere. It was quite a shock when Theo was cast as Belle.

Philip was so excited that he lifted Theo and twirled her around in the middle of the music room. He wanted to kiss her, but hugged her, instead.

Mary had also tried out for the lead, but ended up getting the role of the wardrobe. Philip and his friends expected her to be upset, but she never showed it.

"Congratulations," Mary said to Theo one day. She spoke softly, looking at the floor and shifting her weight. "I think you'll do pretty well." When she got no immediate response, Mary scurried away.

"Was...was she being sarcastic?" Philip wondered. Theo placed a hand on Philip's chest to keep him from reacting rashly.

"I don't know," Stephen muttered, staring in confusion at Mary.

* * *

Rehersals went well, for the most part. The only hiccups were small and quickly resolved.

Because Theo took dance classes, she, by default, had to help the kids who were having trouble with the choreography. She didn't mind doing so, but Philip certainly had some issues with it.

When Theo was teaching a boy how to step during a ballroom dance, Philip stood just a few meters away, watching closely, making sure the boy didn't try to get touchy. Philip would say that his intimidation tactic had worked, but Theo would argue that the boy's girlfriend, who was doing the same thing as Philip, was probably doing more.

Another problem Philip encountered was the kiss at the end of the show. The dilemma itself was that Philip was not interested in kissing Theo.

Okay, so, he understood that that was a blatant lie, but it was partially true...if that made any sense. He didn't want to kiss her, _yet_. Not until she was ready. Not unless she was comfortable.

"Philip, I really won't mind," Theo promised.

Philip shook his head. "No, I-I can't just do that." Theo sighed, but Philip didn't care. Now wasn't the time. Now wasn't special.

* * *

The backstage area was buzzing with nervousness and excitement the night of the first show. The cast members ran around, trying to put on their costumes and makeup. The tech crew was checking the microphones while the stage crew made sure all the props were in place. Stephen had to help Mary with her makeup, hissing at her to stop fidgeting as he did so.

Meanwhile, Philip was pacing around backstage and chewing his lip.

He found Theo and pulled her into a corner to talk.

"What's wrong?" Theo asked.

"Pops is going to be late," Philip said, rocking on his feet.

"Ah. How late?"

"I don't know." Philip tried to run a hand through his hair, but his costume didn't let him. Theo reached out and patted down the fake fur that sat on Philip's face.

"Relax. You know he doesn't want to be late. His job just sucks, sometimes."

"Yeah, I know..."

Theo smiled softly and squeezed Philip's shoulder. "Do your best, tonight, anyway, okay?"

"Okay..."

Theo gave Philip a quick hug, then stepped back.

"Caught you!" Georges yelled as he jumped out from behind the corner. When his eyes handed on Philip and Theo, his face fell. "Oh."

"Caught...what?" Philip asked.

"I thought you were going to be making out when I found you." George's laughed awkwardly.

"What?" Philip squeaked, his face burning red.

"Yu're going to be late for your cue," Georges said, ignoring Philip's embarrassment.

"You're a jerk." Philip glared at Georges as he pushed his way to the stage.

"What a shame," Georges giggled.

The show went off without a hitch. Alexander was only five minutes late, entering just in time to see the first song. Philip and Theo had trouble acting so angry with each other in many of their interactions. They made funny faces to each other during their main dance scene. Unbeknownst to them, Stephen and Adrienne were watching this scene closely, talking through their headsets about how cute the new couple was.

Philip and Theo held hands as they bowed and didn't let go until long after the curtain closed.


	33. Chapter 33

**This is literally the only story I have ideas for right now, so if you read my other stories, don't expect an update on them for quite some time. I apologize. Oh, well.**

* * *

Mary went to the bathroom exactly halfway through third hour, then return to class four minutes later. Stephen knew this because he had class right across the hall from her and would occasionally watch her come and go. He used this information to follow Mary to the girl's bathroom.

Stephen was worried this was going to become a regular occurrence. Someone was going to catch him one of these days and think he was a pervert. It was just a bathroom; use a damn hole in the ground, if you're so worked up.

Anyway, Stephen pushed open the bathroom door and walked in, no shame or fear. Mary was at the sink, washing her hands. When she looked up to fix her hair, she jumped and squeaked at the sight of Stephen in the mirror.

"You shouldn't be in here," Mary said once she calmed down.

"Oh, well." Stephen moved towards her and leaned against the sink. "What's your deal?"

"What do you mean?" Mary huffed, "I stopped harassing you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yeah, well, you're actually being nice, now, and it's creeping me out."

"Seriously? You don't like that I'm trying to be nice? What do you want from me?"

"To stop trying to get with me."

"I can't help that I like you."

"You like my money."

"I don't want your money."

"Sure you don't."

"When have I ever acted like that?"

"When you weren't pretending to be nicer."

"This is what I wanted to avoid," Mary groaned. "Why else would I be nice if I'm not trying to get something? It couldn't possibly be that I hate myself for being such a terrible person. Maybe I would rather be nice, but I don't have a choice in the matter, because my friends are bitches, but if I leave them, I'll be alone, because no one likes me, because I've been so mean." Mary was just about gasping for breath.

"You'll be fine," Stephen said. "You're popular. Everyone loves you."

Mary laughed hysterically. "The definition of being popular in high school is that everyone hates you. Even the popular kids all hate each other. If I leave my friends, then everyone will think I'm an asshole and not want to talk to me."

"Not if you explain why you don't like them."

"One against three. That'll work out well."

Stephen sighed. "Why don't you start caring less about how you look to people?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Wow, thanks for that great advice. If only I could."

"Why can't you?"

"Because it's terrifying."

"Big deal."

Mary pouted.

"It'll make you nicer, maybe. Isn't that what you want?"

"I..." Mary crossed her arms. "You're a jerk."

"So says the girl that's obsessed with me."

Mary huffed and started to walk towards the door. Stephen grabbed her wrist and held tight, turning her towards him.

"Listen," Stephen said quietly, "I don't mind that you're trying to be better. I think it's nice, actually. Just keep in mind that I'm not going to immediately like you because of it. After all these years and everything you've done, it's hard to believe that you aren't acting like this to make me like you. It'll take a hell of a lot of time for me to trust you, so if you don't want to deal with waiting, then give up now."

Mary met Stephen's eyes, a determined shine in her own. "I know that you don't trust me. That's fine. But I'm not just doing this for you."

They looked at each other for a moment.

"Give me your phone," Stephen demanded.

"What? Why?"

"Just give it to me."

"I'm not just going to-"

"I'm giving you my number."

Mary handed over her phone.

"I'm only doing this in case no one else ends up wanting to talk to you. It's a last resort. So don't go texting me whenever you want." Stephen pushed Mary's phone back into her hands. She was gaping at him as he walked out of the bathroom.

Stephen's phone buzzed in his pocket while he headed back to class. He didn't respond to the text that said "thank you", but considered answering it later.


	34. Chapter 34

Philip was used to seeing his friends' parents in his house, considering they were friends with his parents. The whole group of them would hang out together, sometimes, so seeing all the cars in the driveway was not surprising.

Today, however, strayed slightly away from the norm.

Philip had to take Angie to her dance practice, and when they returned, they noted four familiar cars lining the street. The Mulligans, the Schuyler-Reynolds **('s?)** , Angelica and Eliza, and Aaron Burr. Burr was a rare addition.

It wasn't weird to see them all sitting around the table in the living room and talking. What was weird, however, was John, upon noticing his children, jumping onto the table and laying across it. It was an obvious attempt to hide something, and all his friends shook their heads because of it. The kids silently and awkwardly went to their rooms, becoming concerned for their father's mental health. Again.

The mysterious meeting was never explained.

Until, three days later...

"Um...what's going on?" Philip and Angie had been called out of their rooms, only to find all the adults and their children in the living room. Fifteen people including Philip and Angie. Philip's friends stood together on the other side on the room, waving at him. He went over to them, gravitating towards Theo and wrapping an arm around her waist.

Once everyone was settled, John climbed onto the table in the middle of the room, clapping to get their attention. "Focus on me, please!" Everyone already was, because standing on a table tended to help with that. "We have an announcement to make, so listen well, kids."

Philip glanced at his friends, who all shared his expression of confusion and intrigue.

"Drumroll, please." Everyone, excluding Angie and Burr, patted their thighs in a cheap imitation of a drum. When they quieted, John continued, "Everyone in this room...will be traveling over spring break...to...Disney World!"

The children were too shocked to react, which made the adults unconscious the silence.

"Um...are you interested, or...?" Hercules waved a hand in front of Adrienne's dazed face.

"Of course," Angie said, being the only comprehensive child. "They are just stunned."

Philip suddenly shouted, "Holy crap, we're going to Disney?"

"See?"

Philip's yell had spurred the other teens into action. Most of them jumped and flailed around, squealing and babbling in excitement. Stephen did not freak out as much as the others, but he was still smiling widely. Georges and Adrienne began to sing different Disney songs, and the others quickly joined in with their own.

"What have we done?" Alex muttered, massaging his temples.

"Something good," Eliza replied.

John clapped his hands, again, until the children finally quieted down. "Okay, so, here's the deal," John said. "Plane ride tomorrow at 11 o'clock, so you have today and tomorrow morning to pack. We'll spend the late afternoon and evening just hanging around Florida. Next few days is Disney." The kids cheered again.

* * *

Philip and Angie had only been on a plane once before, when they were seven and two, respectively. They had gone to South Carolina to visit John's siblings. Philip only remembered bits and pieces of the plane rides, and Angie didn't remember the trip, at all. Therefore, the Disney vacation was effectively their first plane experience.

It took what felt like years to get through the airport. They got snacks after they found their gate, then waited until they could board the plane.

Their large group took up a good chunk of the seats. Philip and Theo sat next to each other, with Burr sitting next to his daughter, making Philip a bit uncomfortable. Across from them sat Alex, John, and Angie, the youngest of which stared out the window in extreme interest while the plane took off. Georges and Adrienne sat behind Philip and Theo, laughing loudly about something. Stephen sat next to them, eagerly waiting to be able to use his phone. Their parents, Angelica, and Eliza were in the seats around them.

Philip actually enjoyed the plane ride, for the most part. He and Theo held hands the whole time, which kept his mind buzzing enough to not fall asleep like Mr. Burr had.

Alexander distracted himself with a book the entire time. John looked out the window with Angie, pointing out all the teeny, tiny buildings. Unfortunately, Angie never responded. It seemed like she was just observing the world in her usual manner, not interested in talking to anyone-

"Dad," Angie spoke up out of the blue.

John smiled at her. "Yeah?"

"I am going to vomit."

John stopped smiling.

It turned out, Angie was very, very, _very_ plane sick.

The girl went to the bathroom every five minutes, and her parents moved seats to let her sit in the aisle. Eliza passed up some medicine while Philip asked Angie about how planes worked, which calmed her down slightly.

Angie was shaking when the plane landed. Alex led her off the plane while the rest of the group gathered their things.

After letting Angie rest for a few minutes, the friends and family headed out. Vacation was waiting for them.


	35. Chapter 35

The entrance was crowded with people, yet it was an entire hour before the doors to Disney World opened. The children were practically twitching in excitement. To pass the time, they started to sing Disney songs, again, but together, this time. The twins sang the unbirthday song from Alice in Wonderland. Philip and Theo danced while Eliza sang Beauty and the Beast. Stephen sang I Won't Say I'm in Love from Hercules. They all promptly began to sing Zero to Hero, pointing at the man with the name of the movie. Angie was the only one who didn't sing, because she didn't know any of the lyrics, because she didn't like watching the movies, because she hated the concept of magic. (She had never believed in Santa or the tooth fairy, either.)

Most of the teens screamed when they saw Mickey Mouse welcoming everyone to the park.

The castle was huge, and Alexander promised they would go there on the last day.

They went to Tomorrowland and rode Space Mountain, first, regaining Angie's interest. After that was Adventureland and the Pirates of the Carribean ride. Alexander was huddled close to John on that one, afraid of falling out of the boat and into the water. The ride after that was Splash Mountain, which Alex, Angie, and Aaron refused to ride, not wanting to get wet.

Splash Mountain seated eight people to a boat, and the parents wanted their own boat, so three other teens ended up sitting with the kids. They appeared to be siblings, one girl and two boys, all with reddish-brown hair.

The two two groups didn't really notice each other for a while. Then, before the ride began to move, Stephen nudged Adrienne and gestured to the other girl's shirt. It read, "Gay AF".

And this is what caught Adrienne's attention.

Adrienne took a good look at the girl. She was very pretty. Her hair went to her shoulders in a gentle wave. She had simple makeup that accentuated her smooth, slightly tan features.

Adrienne was in love.

She didn't realize how long she had been staring at the girl until the girl stared back. The brunette looked down, and Adrienne followed her eyes down to her own pride bracelet. They met eyes, again, and Adrienne grinned.

"Hi," Adrienne said. "Small world."

"Splash Mountain, actually," the other girl replied.

"Oh, you're smooth."

The girl grazed her eyes over Adrienne's body. "You look smoother."

Adrienne choked on air, blushing. "Real smooth..."

"Adrienne," Stephen cut in, "are you going to introduce yourself, or...?"

"A-Adrienne," the blonde quickly said. "Adrienne Mulligan."

"Carla Garcia." The girl nodded to the two boys sitting next to her. "These are my brothers."

Adrienne gestured to her own group[. "My friends." She nudged Georges. "This is my brother, Georges."

"Interesting name."

"It's French," Georges muttered.

"Oh, you're French?"

Adrienne said no while Georges said yes.

"Our father from France," Georges said.

"But we were adopted," Adrienne added.

Georges started to fidget with his necklace.

Carla and Adrienne dove into a conversation about themselves. Carla was from Washington Heights, as it turned out. She was sixteen. She was funny. She was single. She was...covered in water?

They had forgotten they were on a water ride.

The teens squealed in delight as the ride picked up, tossing them around and splashing them with water. Their clothes were soaked through by the time the ride was over. Philip tried to hug Theo for warmth, but she ran from him, giggling, until he caught up to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Theo had no choice but to resign. Philip held her as the group went to find the missing three. Adrienne was very upset to say goodbye to Carla.

Alexander, Aaron, and Angie had gone to the Hall of Presidents, seeming very upbeat about having seen so much history. Alex's heart skipped a beat when he saw John dripping in water, and not in a good way. He calmed down slightly when John kissed him.

They all ate, and Adrienne told her parents about Carla while they did. The large group went on the rest of the rides in Adventureland, then watched a parade.

The rest of the day was spent in the Animal Kingdom, which Angie was extremely excited about. She conceded to go on a couple rides, with the compromise being that she could see the birds for an entire hour. Her parents were just happy she was having fun.

The trip was going wonderfully.


	36. Chapter 36

The next day started in the Haunted Mansion. Adrienne and Georges pointed out little details in and before the ride that they found more funny than creepy. Stephen and Angie ended up riding together, talking about how each animatronic and trick of the eye worked. Theo and Philip cuddled in their seat, jumping and laughing at each little scare.

All the fairytale rides were next. On each one, Angie was giving a scientific explanation or impossibility for every "magical" thing, ruining some of the fun. The Little Mermaid ride was the worst in that regard, mostly because John had joined in to her antics.

"Fish don't move like that," John said while watching an animation of the characters. "They _can't_ move like that. Their fins literally, physically cannot move like that."

"Instruments don't even work underwater," Angie added. "Unless it's a specially tweaked string instrument and/or unnecessarily large."

"Fish and crustaceans don't even have vocal cords."

"Even if mermaids did exist, they wouldn't have hair."

"Do you two have to act like this?" Alex groaned.

"You don't like The Little Mermaid, either," John retorted.

"Well, yeah, but that's because one: the ocean can piss off, and two: Ariel and Eric are the dumbest couple ever. He's the ruler of a sea-side kingdom, meaning all their food and trade money and jobs involve fishing. So, either Ariel decides that fishing can no longer happen, _or_ her best friend Flounder ends up on her dinner plate one day."

Eliza shook her head. "You three are awful."

"The Little Mermaid is awful."

"La magie est terrible," Angie grumbled, crossing her arms.

Angelica lightly shoved Alex and John. "You're scaring the small children."

"Fuck the small children," Peggy hissed.

Maria sighed, "Babe, you teach small children."

"Your point?"

Eliza turned to Philip. "Do you still believe in magic, at least?"

Philip glanced at Theo, who he held in one arm. "Something like that."

Eliza smiles sweetly. "Good."

They got ice cream, then went to the Dumbo ride. Theo rested her head on Philip's shoulder as they floated through the air. Georges and Adrienne kept moving their fake elephant up and down, hoping it would actually launch into the sky. Angie sat with her father, and after being in the air for five seconds, she got flashbacks to the plane, and immediately went back down and stayed down.

The last ride of the day was the Mad Tea Party, in which the teacups spun around at potentially dangerous speeds. This time, Theo was with her dad, and Angie was with both of her parents. Philip, Adrienne, Georges, and Stephen sat in a teacup together, spinning it as fast as they possibly could, threatening to break the cup off the ride altogether.

Philip had to sit down for a few minutes, afterwards, too dizzy to walk properly. He tried to hug Theo for comfort, but she quickly denied the advance, not wanting to be thrown up on. Half of the group, including Theo, went to find snacks, and the rest stayed with Philip.

Stephen sat down next to his friend. "You're really cute together," he said.

"Who?" Philip wondered.

"You and Theo, duh."

"Oh." A blush crept up Philip's cheeks. "Thanks."

Stepgen stared at his phone as he flipped it around in his hands. "She really likes you."

"I-I don't know if she _really_ likes me-ow!" Stephen had cut Philip off with a slap to the arm.

"Yes, she does. Just enjoy it, man. Not everyone gets to have a relationship as happy and healthy as yours seems to be." Stephen unlocked his phone, locked it, again, and rubbed the dark screen with his thumb.

Philip pursed his lips. "How are you doing with your...sexuality stuff?" He felt horribly awkward calling it that.

Stephen shrugged. "It's...better...and worse..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm taking your advice and not thinking about it; just letting it all happen. But..." Stephen unlocked and locked his phone, again.

"But?"

Stephen opened his mouth, but closed it again before saying anything. The rest of the group had returned, making Stephen go silent.

Theo handed Philip a bottle of water, and he squeezed her hand as thanks. Everyone stood around and talked for a while, until it was noticed that Philip was leaning against Theo's legs and falling asleep.

* * *

 **Okay but Stephen and Angie are one of my brotps in this story**


	37. Chapter 37

**I'd rather say this at the beginning: I DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP AAAAAAAAHHHH. Ahem. April Fools Day is coming up in the story, and I have literally zero prank ideas...so, if you have any ideas, please comment or PM and let me know! If you need an incentive, I will mention everyone I choose an idea from. Thanks in advance! Love ya! On with the story!**

* * *

The last day at Disney was Stephen's birthday. The adults had a lot planned.

The first half of the day was spent in the castle. They went to the gift shop and boutique, picking out whatever they wanted. A few of the kids were excited by the princess dresses.

"I'll get Belle's dress," Theo said, "because I played her in the musical."

"I want Tiana's dress," Stephen decided after a minute of thinking. "Green looks good on me."

"I obviously have to get Snow White's dress," Adrienne said. Her friends waited for her to expand. "Because I'm a fucking original."

It took a while to find dresses their size, but they didn't give up until they did. They all got glitter in their hair, and Theo's hair was lightly curled. The three of them got their make up done, put on tiaras, then posed sassily while their friends and families took pictures of them.

In the gift shop, Theo and Stephen had to be careful not to knock anything over with their dresses. Philip had his arm linked with Theo's the entire time, walking together like a true prince and princess. Angie found a book about how the movies were animated and begged her parents to get it for her. They caved quickly.

"Mon amour," Gil cooed, "can you get that for me?"

Hercules faced his husband. Gil's arms were full of at least a dozen stuffed animals. He was pointing at another one on a high shelf. Hercules devilishly grinned and said, "You're tall, too. Get it yourself."

Gil huffed and rolled his eyes, offended, but got the toy on his own.

Eliza got necklaces for her and her sisters, with gems in their favorite colors. Stephen's friends worked together to get him a few pairs of earrings as birthday presents. Philip considered buying a ring for Theo, but when Stephen reminded him of what that implied, Philip practically sprinted away from the jewelry counter.

While the group was walking to their next destination, Stephen stumbled over his dress when his phone suddenly dinged. His friends laughed at his reaction, but he ignored them and checked his phone. He took a selfie-something rare-in which he was not smiling, but his tongue was sticking out. Immediately after doing this, Stephen silenced his phone and held it tightly against his side.

Lunch was in the fancy dining room in Cinderella's castle. The group of fifteen took up the biggest table in the room. They ate Disney-themed food, and Stephen got a special dessert for his birthday. He was embarrassed when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him in front of so many people.

He held his phone under the table throughout lunch, hiding whatever he was doing on it.

Most of the rest of the day was spent on Main Street. They went through the shops, saw the horses, and watched people sing on the street.

A little boy ran up to Stephen and asked if he was a princess.

"No, I'm not," Stephen told the child. "I'm a prince."

"But...you're wearing a dress."

"Princes and princesses can do whatever they want, right?"

The boy nodded.

"That means they can wear whatever they want, too."

"Oh." The child's big eyes blinked a few times before his face fell. "I want to try wearing a dress...but I'm not a prince..."

Stephen took his tiara off and placed it on the boy's head, among his fluffy, curly hair. "You are, now."

The boy's face lit up with a wide smile.

A woman's voice emerged from the crowd, shouting, "Izuku? Izuku!" The short, stubby woman ran towards the little boy. "Izuku, stop running off." The woman took her son's hand, but he was more focused on the tiara on his head. "I'm sorry about him bothering you," the woman said to Stephen. "You can have the crown back-"

"It's fine, Ma'am," Stephen interrupted. "He can keep it."

The woman smiled with pure happiness at her son. "Thank you."

Stephen nodded and waved.

When Philip asked what had happened, Stephen just shrugged, his face already buried in his phone, again.

They went back to their hotel rooms earlier than usual that night to pack. Philip still stayed up late, texting his friends in their group chat. His parents didn't mind that he was awake so long, because he was laughing all the while. Angie certainly minded, though, and threw Philip's phone halfway across the room. The kids went to sleep after that.

John and Alex were still up, though, cuddling under the bedsheets. John smiled down at Alexander, softly rubbing circles into his back.

"This was such a good idea," John whispered.

Alex nodded against John's chest. "Wish we had gone to one of the spas, though. I want a massage."

John snorted. "I can give you a massage just fine."

"Eh. Debatable."

"Okay, then." John snickered and curled Alex's hair around his finger. Alexander fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

 _"Alexander..."_

 _Her voice was soft in intensity, yet was so loud it seemed to shake the pitch black world around him._

 _"Alexander...mi hijo..."_

 _"Mama?" He called out into the darkness. He sounded so different, as if he was a child, again._

 _"Alexander...ven aquí..."_

 _"I...I don't know where you are, Mama."_

 _"¿Donde está tu español?"_

 _"I...um..."_

 _"Où est votre français?"_

 _"I speak English, now, Mama."_

 _He could hear her click her tongue. "Shame on you, forgetting languages of your mother."_

 _"I haven't, Mama."_

 _"Come here. We will talk."_

 _Before he could ask where she was, a spotlight shone on his face from far away in the darkness. He shielded his eyes and walked into the light._

 _The light was coming from a pure white car with illegally dark windows. He was...confused, to say the least. Still, he opened the driver's side door and got in._

 _The second the door closed, the interior of the car exploded in even more light. When his eyes adjusted, he realized that there was someone in the passenger seat._

 _"English, hm? You are American, now?" She wasn't looking at him, but he gaped at her. Her tan skin and long, dark, braided hair contrasted against her bright, white, dress. The fabric looked torn and floated as if she was in the water. He hiccuped in fear._

 _"M-Mama..."_

 _In all his life of having these horrible nightmares, he had never had one where they just sat and talked._

 _It was terrifying._

 _"You are happy," she stated. "This is good, sí?"_

 _"Oui, Mama."_

 _"You act as if you do not believe in God."_

 _"I...I don't, anymore, Mama." This was the first time he had felt ashamed while saying this. "He didn't help you or anyone at home."_

 _"Do you believe in any God? Any high power?" She was disappointed._

 _"No, Mama."_

 _"Your husband? Your children?"_

 _"No, Mama. John was told that God hates homosexuality and never grew out of it. Angie is extremely atheist; so obsessed with science that it's all she believes matters. Philip...well, Philip never had the chance, I suppose."_

 _"You have given up? You do not try?"_

 _"Mama...it's our choice."_

 _"But you do not believe in anything!" She coughed violently. He panicked._

 _"Mama?!"_

 _"Silencio!"_

 _He shut his mouth._

 _"You will listen. You will believe this."_

 _"Mama, I don't want to-"_

 _"God, good God, bad God, many gods, goddesses, no god; you believe anything you want. But this is true: everything happens for a reason. Even if reason is not a good one. Fate is real and controls the winds well. You will do as he says and so will everyone else."_

 _"If Fate is some real higher power, then he's an asshole."_

 _"Fate does not care about being good or bad. Neither does any God that may exist. They do not always keep promises. They may change their minds. They do what they must and you will handle it."_

 _"Mama...I can't believe this..."_

 _"I do not care. That is your choice, as you said. This is fine. But, you will learn. You will learn to believe in something, whatever it is."_

 _"How can you be so sure?"_

 _"I have an afterlife. You may not, if you do not believe in it. But in my afterlife, in the afterlife of many others, there is something. Something to believe in or learn. I believe in my God and Fate, so there they are. They say many things. Say you will see me again, soon. Say bad things are coming for you and your family. Say you must look out for what is ahead of you. I will listen to them."_

 _"Is that what you came here to tell me? To warn me of something you don't even know about?"_

 _"You do not listen to your mother? Ahead of you."_

 _He huffed. "Fine. I'll watch my step-"_

 _"No, non, non._ Ahead _of you." She pointed at the car's windshield._

 _"Wha...?" Apparently, she was being literal. He faced forward, then gasped and nearly screamed._

 _The car was underwater. Deep, deep underwater. He could feel himself suffocating. He struggled to escape, but he had nowhere to go. He was trapped. Light filled his vision. Another car appeared ahead in the water, coming in fast. He felt her hand take his, less than a second before the vehicles collided and he was kill-_

He would have screamed if he hadn't choked on air. He was sitting up, but he didn't know why. John was sitting in front of him and wearing a desperate expression that melted into relief. John leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

Where were they? It was dark. An unrecognizable room.

The kids were sitting on the edge of a bed on the other side of the room, Philip holding Angie close as they stared at him.

"Papa?" Angie whispered.

And Alexander snapped out of it.

His cheeks were already wet, but he burst into tears, curling up against John's body. Philip stood first and Angie quickly followed. They climbed onto the bed and hugged their father.

John had been muttering something for a while. "It was just a nightmare, Alex. Just a terror. It's not real. You're safe. You're with us. We're all okay."

Alexander covered his face with his hands.

 _"...bad things are coming for you and your family..."_

Alexander prayed to God- _any_ god-that if he didn't believe it, it wouldn't come true.


	38. Chapter 38

**Again, I have nothing to say for myself. For this chapter, special thanks to tyozzie123, AwkwardJello, , QueenLaurens, and Hamilover.**

* * *

The first thing John thought about when he woke up was that he needed a cup of coffee. The second thing he thought about was that Alexander wasn't in bed wit him, anymore.

John stretched and yawned, then slowly got out of bed. He groggily made his way to the kitchen, where Alex was awake and making a pot of that much-needed coffee. John walked the dog, and when he returned, Philip and Angie were awake and eating breakfast.

Philip spit out his cereal when he looked at his father, bursting into laughter. Angie stared at John for a moment, then shrugged and went back to eating.

"What just happened?" John wondered.

"Nothing," Philip snorted. Yet, the boy couldn't look at John's face without giggling. John figured something was on his face, so went to the bathroom to check himself in the mirror.

There was indeed something on his face: lines of marker connecting the freckles on his cheeks like constellations. Alexander had always said John's freckles looked like stars. And the culprit was found.

"Alexander!" John shouted into the house. His husband appeared in the doorway as if he had been waiting there.

"Yes?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

John gestured to his face.

"Oh, well, you see, it's April Fools Day."

John blinked. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You forget every year."

"Yeah, I know." John pushed past Alex and rushed to the kitchen. Out of spite, John unscrewed the salt shaker and dumped a third of it into the pot of coffee. However, Alexander still had a smug smile. He poured himself a mug of the coffee and _chugged_ it.

"I switched the sugar and salt before you woke up," Alex explained. He grabbed his computer bag and left the house before John could even react.

John eventually just sighed and got a cup of coffee for himself. He took a sip and immediately spit it out.

It _was_ salt.

* * *

Aaron was in his office, diligently researching facts for his newest case when he got a text from an unknown number. This wasn't inherently a strange thing; people got messages and calls from wrong numbers all the time.

However, this unknown person knew his name.

 **Unknown Number:** Hello, Aaron. This is John Adams, your boss. I recently got a new phone, hence why you may not know the number.

It was somewhat strange that Adams didn't just send out an email or explain this to everyone in person, but Aaron didn't question it anymore than that. He didn't have a reason to.

 **You:** Thank you for letting me know.

 **Adams:** I have something very important to talk to you about.

 **You:** Go on.

 **Adams:** I am giving you a promotion.

Aaron gasped softly. That was sudden, but he was in no way opposed.

 **You:** What for, if I may ask?

 **Adams:** Because I love you!

...And something was wrong.

 **You:** What is this?

 **Adams:** Do you not love me? If you don't, you don't get the promotion.

Aaron was starting to get concerned. He left his office to go investigate, passing Alexander's office on the way.

Hamilton was laughing loudly at something. Aaron peered through the window in the door, watched Alex type something on his phone, then received another message.

 **Adams:** AAAAAAAAAAAAaron...my looove...

Aaron huffed and stormed into Hamilton's office, startling the man.

"Hey, Aaron," Alex said, faking a calm composure and stifling laughs.

"You can't pretend to be someone else and spread false information," Aaron replied.

"I think you're just upset that Adams doesn't actually love you."

"You're a fiend, sometimes, Hamilton. Why even do this?"

"What else could I do on a day like today?" Alex wondered wistfully.

"And what does today have to do with it?"

"Well, my good Watson, it's April Fools Day."

* * *

Rain was sprinkling down where Angelica and Eliza lived. Angelica wiped the water off of her face when she walked into her house. Eliza stood in the kitchen with an apron on.

"How was your day, Angelica?" Eliza asked with a bright smile on her face.

"Alright," Angelica said. She caught a whiff of something. "What's that smell?"

"Caramel, probably."

Whatever it was smelled somewhat stranger than that, but Angelica ignored it. "Okay, then. What were you making?"

"Caramel apples." Eliza reached into the fridge and pulled out a tray of the treats. "Want one?"

"Sure." Angelica took one, bit into it, then immediately cringed and spit the bite onto the floor. "What the hell was that?"

"I already told you."

"That was way too...not an apple." Angelica looked down at the gross thing she had just tasted, noticing the layers in it. "This is an onion, Eliza."

"And?"

"What the fuck, Eliza?"

Eliza just giggled.

"Did you make an entire batch of candied onions?"

"Maybe..."

"This is the worst holiday ever."

* * *

Peggy and Maria had their eyes on each other all day. Over the years, April Fools Day had become less about pranking each other and more about who could prank the other first.

Peggy had made pancakes for breakfast, but Maria got food from a fast food place on her way to work. A mysterious package came for Peggy, so she gave it to Stephen, who knew well enough to throw it in the trash before glitter exploded all over him. When Maria got home, she took a bath instead of a shower, because the shower head was full of Kool-aid. She then dried her hair with a towel instead of a hair dryer, because the hair dryer was undoubtedly full of baby powder or flour.

The day was going well.

Everyone in the house had ordered their own take out for dinner, and Stephen brought it up to his room to keep it from being tainted. Maria and Peggy squinted at each other from across the table, until Maria stood to throw her trash away.

One step into the kitchen and Maria was falling onto her back. Peggy snickered from behind her.

"Olive oil, babe," Peggy said. "Always works."

* * *

Georges understood that when people are dating, they will often text each other, especially if they have a long distance relationship.

But this was just annoying.

Adrienne had been texting Carla nonstop for days, and completely ignoring Georges, her best friend. She didn't even realize it when their parents started to act strange.

Dad kept pretending to touch Papa's back or arm, but never actually did. Papa smiled awkwardly at every interaction. When Georges asked Papa what was wrong, Dad said that everything was fine. So, obviously, everything was not fine.

"Adrienne," Georges whispered as he shook his sister's shoulders. She ignored him. "Adrienne. Papa is being weird."

"He's always acting weird," Adrienne muttered, not looking up from her phone. "Leave me alone." She tried to go to her room, but Georges stopped her and turned her around.

Their parents had been leaning against the kitchen counter as if they were bored, but started smiling and pretending to touch each other when the kids looked at them.

"See? There's something wrong."

Adrienne only looked up for a second, then looked back down. "Sure."

"That's it?"

"I mean, I guess it's weird, but it's not that big of a deal."

"What?"

"You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you-"

The doorbell rang. Dad looked confused, but answered the door, anyway. The Madisons stood on the other side. Thomas was staring at the ground.

"Mary figured it out," James said.

"James got touchy, so I yelled at him. It's not my fault," Thomas said. With...a French accent.

Adrienne started paying attention.

The person the twins thought was their papa took down his hair and the person they thought was Thomas pulled his hair up.

"Our kids barely seemed to notice," Hercules said.

"Rude," the real Papa pouted.

The real Thomas nodded. "Some April Fool's Day this is."

* * *

Philip usually let his friends come over on April Fool's Day, because their parents would often get too annoying. Today was no different.

Stephen showed up first-laughing at some text on his phone-followed shortly by Georges and Adrienne. Adrienne texted Carla while the boys played video games. It was fine until something crashed halfway across the house.

Philip quickly got up and rushed to his sister's room, calling out, "Angie, are you okay?"

Angie grumbled something under her breath, then responded with, "Oui! Váyase!"

"Okay, okay." Philip was still suspicious, but he went back to the living room, anyway.

A few minutes later, Stephen asked Philip to find a different controller, so Philip headed down the hall. He was only slightly concerned when Georges and Stephen followed him. Philip quickly realized he should have been more concerned when they suddenly shoved him into the closet and shut the door. Philip's friends must have been standing in front of the door, because he couldn't open it. He resigned to turning around and leaning against the wall.

"Hi."

Philip jumped and yelped when someone whispered in his ear. He managed to calm down enough to recognize the voice as Theo's, a thought that calmed him down much more.

"Theo? How did you get here?" Philip asked.

Theo giggled. "Angie let me in through her window."

"Is that what that noise was?"

"Maybe..."

Philip laughed for a moment, but the sound was quickly cut short. "Did you fall? Are you hurt? You shouldn't do something like that-"

Theo held her hand over Philip's mouth. "I'm fine, Pip."

"Okay."

Theo moved her hand away and hugged Philip.

Philip hugged Theo back. "I assume this is supposed to be some kind of prank, but I don't really see a problem with this."

"You're very sweet."

Philip shivered when he felt Theo's breath on his chin. "Thanks."

"Hey..." Theo hesitated. "Have you ever thought about-"

The door opened. Adrienne stood on the other side, still looking at her phone. "You can come out, now," Adrienne said. "Thanks for distracting him, Theo."

"No problem," Theo replied.

Philip gaped at his girlfriend. "Distracting me?"

Theo shrugged and walked out. Philip followed her to the front door, then outside, then to his car, which was absolutely covered in sticky notes.

"What the hell?" Philip gasped. "How did you even do this so fast?"

Stephen and Georges stepped out of the back of the car. "Thank her," Stephen said, pointing to the driver's side door. It opened and out came Angie, who had a smirk on her face.

"I should have known my own sister would betray me in the end," Philip jokingly sneered.

"Yes, you should have," Angie agreed. "You know that soy más inteligente than you."

"Yeah, yeah. Can you take all that off my car, now?"

"Non! That isn't how las fiestas works." Angie patted Philip's arm as she walked past him and went inside. Philip's friends followed her, leaving Philip outside alone.


	39. Chapter 39

**This chapter is inspired entirely by that picture of Anthony in a Hamilton baseball jersey. Also I barely know any more about baseball than I do about football so we'll see how this goes. I wish I could do a chapter about soccer or hockey...**

* * *

The high school's varsity baseball team was called the Stars. Philip and Stephen were both a part of the team, although Stephen only started playing in middle school after Philip begged him enough. It actually ended up being really fun.

Philip himself had been playing baseball since he was a toddler and the sport was considered tee ball. He never thought he was good enough to be on a professional team, but he didn't care. He had a blast either way.

This season had been a particularly good one. The Stars were two games away from being first in the county. Or not. Their ranking was fully dependent on if they could actually win the upcoming double header.

The final games were in a school district about forty minutes away from home. Seeing as the Stars hadn't gotten this close to winning in a decade, a quarter of the school and their families had come to watch the games.

Well, some of those family members were there.

Philip anxiously sat in the dugout during the middle of the first game, not even paying attention to the sport until Stephen made a run and came into the dugout, as well. Stephen used his fingers to comb out his helmet hair and glanced into the stands while he walked up to Philip.

"Is he still not here?" Stephen asked.

"No," Philip sighed. Philip's pop had yet to arrive at the game. At first, Philip just thought that it was taking his father a while because he had to drive so far out. However, the law firm was only twenty minutes away from the school Philip was at, and his father had been informed of the game's start forty minutes ago.

In fact, he had known about the game for a month and a half.

"He'll get here," Stephen assured, still squinting at the stands.

"Hopefully. I doubt watching the crowd and waiting for him to show up will help, though. But thanks, anyway."

Stephen blinked and faced Philip again. "Oh. No, I was just seeing if...I mean...never mind." Stephen sat on the bench. "But, hey, listen, he's got work to do. My mom does, too. That's why she can't come to some of my stuff. But that's okay. I think you're just so used to him always being there that when he isn't, you get thrown out of whack."

"So, I'm spoiled?"

"In a sense, I guess. But it's largely a good kind of spoiled."

Philip pouted, stood, and put his hat on when it was the Stars' turn to be in the field. "Whatever."

Pops showed up during the last inning of the first game, just in time to see the Stars win.

"I'm sorry, Pip," Pops said when Philip visited the stands. "I got so swamped at work, is all."

Philip nodded along. "I figured."

He walked around to go find Theo. She was hanging around the food stand with a camera bag slung over her shoulder and a tray of chips and cheese in her hand. She smiled when she saw Philip coming towards her.

"Hey, you!" Theo nudged Philip in the side when Philip wrapped an arm around her waist. "How's it going?"

"Good, I suppose." Philip stole a chip from Theo, who wrinkled her nose in fake anger. "You're cute."

Theo blushed, but disguised it by saying, "The pictures I took for the yearbook are cute, too."

"That sounds suspicious."

Theo snickered and handed Philip her snack. She then puffed out her cheeks, squinted her eyes, and pretended to swing a bat.

"We don't look like that."

Theo raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, we do."

They both laughed, but Philip stopped short when he truly noticed Theo's smile.

He wanted to kiss her.

Philip patted his girlfriend's back and said, "I should head back."

Theo looked disappointed for a second. "Oh. Okay. I'll see you after the game." Philip hugged her and headed off.

The second game was for the title of champion. The two teams were neck and neck for the entire game. Stephen got hit in the face with the ball while he was running, but he kept playing, determined to win.

Philip caught his pop on his phone at the top of the fifth inning, and the man was gone by they bottom of the inning. Philip forced himself not to think about it.

The final inning came much sooner than anyone expected. The other team was several runs ahead, meaning almost everyone batting for the Stars would have to make a run to win. Unfortunately, multiple players struck out, so by the end of the inning, the Stars were still three runs behind.

However, the bases were loaded, and the last person up to bat was Philip. He couldn't help but think how cliché it felt.

Philip got a strike. _Fine._ He got another strike. _Crap._ He hit a foul ball. _Well, I'm screwed._

Philip's morale had suddenly been shot down completely. Even though his team, classmates, and family members were cheering him on, he felt weak and ashamed.

But one voice broke through his mind.

"Come on, Philip!" Theo shouted. She must have been right against the fence. "You can do it, Pip, you can do it!"

The ball was pitched, and before Philip realized what was happening, he had hit the ball over the far fence.

The crowd exploded. Philip felt his feet run over the bases; first, second, third, home. He was still in a daze when his teammates crowded around him, hugged him, then picked him up on their shoulders. Philip raised a fist into the air, and the crowd cheered louder. The announcer was declaring the winner, but no one was listening.

Half of the Stars' fans ran out onto the field to congratulate their friends and families. Before he was put back down, Philip saw Theo hand her camera to Georges and rush onto the field, as well. Philip caught her in a hug, lifting her and spinning her around. Theo pulled off Philip's helmet and smiled widely at him.

And then her lips were pressed against Philip's, making him gasp.

Philip dropped Theo to her feet as she quickly pulled away, looking worried.

"Sorry, I just...I thought that maybe you, um..." Theo trailed off when Philip's face broke into a grin. "Philip, do-oh!"

Philip dipped Theo as if she was a princess and kissed her again. He felt her arms wrap around his neck just before he slowly moved away. Theo's face was flushed, her eyelashes fluttering as she gaped at Philip.

"Okay," Theo whispered. She and Philip giggled hysterically.

They turned when they heard Georges say, "That has to go in the yearbook." Georges was holding up Theo's camera, having taken plenty of pictures of Philip and Theo's interaction. Theo hid her face in Philip's chest when Georges showed the picture to them.

Adrienne stood behind her brother, staring at her phone. "Carla says you guys are really cute together."

"It's a good picture," Philip admitted. He loved it. He and Theo were perfectly centered in the frame, with the rest of the excited people in the background, their joy forever preserved.

Even though all but the couple were slightly blurred, Philip could still recognize Stephen and Mary hugging in the picture. Philip looked around until he caught his best friend still talking to the girl he supposedly hated. Mary appeared to be fretting over the bag of ice Stephen was holding against his cheek. Stephen, however, did not seem upset. So, Philip left it alone. He felt he had more important things to focus on.

Philip hugged Theo tighter. "I didn't think you would be kissing me first."

"You were taking too long," Theo responded.

Philip's stomach dropped when he realized that all the times he had wanted to kiss Theo recently, he could have. "Well, then, I'll start kissing you all the time."

"Good."


	40. Chapter 40

Gil had had a long day at work. His students had been extra rowdy, with most of them absolutely refusing to listen to his lesson or do their work. All Gil wanted to do now was eat and go to bed.

"Hercules, darling," Gil called out once he got home, "could you make dinner tonight?"

After a moment, Hercules answered from his office, "Can't tonight, sorry."

Gil frowned and went to the office. Hercules was hunched over the desk, moving strips of blue lace under a sewing machine's needle. "Why can't you cook tonight?" Gil asked.

"Because I'm busy?" Hercules gestured at the fabric covered dress form next to him. "I just figured out how to finish this dress."

"Can't you can finish it later? Please? I've been working all day."

"So have I."

"You work at home. Alone."

"You just work with kids. They aren't that bad."

"They are not kids. They are teenagers. Bratty, annoying, difficult teenagers."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about our kids."

Now, Gil and Hercules had never fought before. They had had short, pointless arguments, sure, but they got over those right away. This, however, was about to become something entirely new.

"Excusez-moi?"

"What?"

Gil narrowed his eyes at his husband. "Please do not suggest that I think poorly of my own children."

"I didn't-"

"Yes, you did."

Hercules sighed heavily and grumbled, "You never understand when I'm being sarcastic."

Gil crossed his arms. "And why is that? Because of some language barrier?"

Hercules sighed again, turned around, and stood up. "Okay, fine, I'll make dinner."

"You only want to make it, now, because you want to shut me up," Gil huffed.

Hercules blinked a few times. "Why are you acting like this?"

Part of Gil's mind told him that he honestly didn't know. He had just ended up here, and now he was stuck, words spilling out of his mouth without him actually understanding what he was saying. Unfortunately, the part of Gil that said that was being blocked off by his built up frustrations from previous, somewhat similar situations.

"Because you always get so annoying whenever I ask you to do something," Gil said.

"Since when?"

"Since all the time. I can't even ask you to make dinner without you whining like a child."

"Well, apparently, I can't explain myself without getting scolded for no reason."

"No reason? I am allowed to be upset about how vous ne savez pas être gentil avec votre mari."

Hercules pinched the bridge of his nose. "Gil, you know I can't speak French."

"And who's fault is that? We've known each other for over two decades and the only French you've ever bothered to learn are the words I use to compliment you. Is that all you care about?"

"So, you think that I said you don't like our kids, which I didn't, and now you're saying that I don't like you. Why are you assuming such horrible things?"

"I am not assuming anything. It's all true, isn't it?"

"No, it's not-"

"Don't lie to me!" Gil sobbed. "S'il te plaît, ne me mens pas..."

"Gil, we literally can't communicate if you speak-"

"There you go, again!"

Hercules snapped, "Listen, if you're going to be so pissy about me not knowing French, then go back home."

They both went quiet, tension heavy in the air between them. When Gil started tearing up, Hercules' eyes widened.

"Gil, that's not what I meant," Hercules hurried to say. "I'm sorry, I-" But Gil was already rushing away. Hercules made it around the corner just in time to see the front door slam closed.

* * *

When John responded to the knock on his door, he wasn't entirely expecting one of his friends to run through the door with a piercing wail. John sighed and closed the door while Gil ran to the couch and dropped onto it like a Disney princess. The Hamilton family had just been in the middle of a nice family dinner, which was starting to become more difficult to do with all the extra work Alexander had been getting lately.

"What's wrong, Gil?" John asked as he went to sit on the arm of the couch.

"Je demande le divorce!" Gil cried out. Philip and Angie took their cue to bring their food to their rooms.

"No, you aren't," Alexander said as he grabbed his laptop and glasses to work at the table. So much for that family dinner.

"Oui, je suis!"

"Gil, I have been your best friend for decades. I know you and Herc aren't breaking up. What's actually going on?"

"Il m'a dit-"

"English, please."

Gil burst into another bout of sobs.

Alex went unfazed. "I know it's hard to switch, right now, but how else is John supposed to understand what you need help with if he doesn't speak your language? You know how hard it is to learn a whole language in the middle of your life. And he's the one who understands relationships, anyway; not me."

Gil blinked a few times, then started to sob even louder. John reached over and patted his friend's head.

Once Gil calmed down, again, he managed to say, "He told me to go back to France."

Alex didn't even look up from his computer. "What did he really say?"

"That _is_ what he said. We were arguing and I got mad at him for not knowing any French and he told me to go back to France."

"Well," John started slowly, "if you were already arguing for a while, which is pretty rare for you two, anyway, then he probably said what he said without thinking. I'm sure he meant something else, but the meaning of it changed in his head because of his emotions, and that messed up version is what came out of his mouth. Does that make sense?"

Gil sniffled. "I guess...but we never fight. We barely even have those little tiny disagreements that everyone else has."

"The frustrations probably just built up between you two, and today was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"But I don't want to fight with him everyday."

"You shouldn't. Absolutely not. I'm just saying that every so often, you two should try to explain any frustrations you have with each other. Just sit down and calmly talk, that's all."

"And then we won't have to divorce?"

"You never-you aren't getting a divorce, Gil. You're blowing this out of proportion."

"But-"

Just then, John's phone rang. "Well, speak of the devil." John put his phone on speaker and the room was immediately filled with Hercules' frantic voice.

"John, I fucked up," Hercules said. "I fucked up big time. Gil is so pissed at me."

John glanced at Gil, who was staring at the phone with wide curious eyes. "What happened, Herc?"

"I- _fuck_ -We started fighting over something dumb and I said the wrong thing. I can't believe I fucking said that, oh, my god. I'm such an asshole."

"What did you say?"

"I was just trying to tell him that we can't communicate properly if he's talking in French, and he's kind of forced to calm down a little and think about what he's saying more when he speaks English, so I thought that might help him to understand that we have nothing to fight over, but..." Hercules stammered through his words while John raised an eyebrow at Gil. "I already know that it upsets him that I don't know French, but it made him really mad today and I've always thought 'why would he want to live here, with me, if he hates it so much?' And I was going to say that, but it came out so, so wrong. Fuck, I told him to go back home, _fuck._ "

Gil was starting to cry again. His bottom lip quivered as he tried to hold back his tears. John kept his eyes on Gil as he spoke into the phone. "You know, Gil is actually over here, right now."

Hercules gasped, "Really? Can I talk to him? Please, I have to apologize."

John handed the phone to Gil, who wiped his eyes before speaking. "I am here, ma chérie."

"Gil, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, _god_ I didn't mean it." Hercules was crying, too.

"I know, darling. I didn't mean to start a fight."

"So, are you going to...?"

"I want to go back home."

"What? But you said-"

"Hercules, France hasn't been my home in a long time," Gil assured. "Come pick me up. I'll fight you again if you make me walk all the way back."

* * *

Hercules had barely been able to knock on the door before Gil had captured him in a hug. Happy tears streamed down their faces while apologies spilled from their mouths. Hercules smiled when Gil kissed him.

When the kiss got more passionate, John yelled at them to go home, already.

They took each other's hands and didn't let go.


	41. Chapter 41

Life was not about to let Gil get a break, and it would do so by using death.

It was around two in the morning when Gil's phone rang. He had to wriggle his way out of Hercules' grasp to grab the phone from the bedside table. He squinted at the screen, but didn't recognize the number, so he put the phone down and went back to sleep.

The second time the phone rang was only twenty minutes later. Gil recognized that the number was French, but before he could think about it anymore, he was being dragged back into a cuddle.

By the third time the phone rang, Gil was desperate for it to stop. He answered right away with a frustrated "'ello?"

The response was slightly fuzzy. "Bonjour. Est-ce que c'est Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette?"

Gil blinked. He hadn't heard someone besides his and Alex's family speak French in years. He hadn't heard his full or maiden name in quite a while, either. "Oui, Je vais par Gilbert Mulligan ces jours-ci. Qui est-ce?"

"Je suis l'Inspecteur André de la police de Chavaniac. J'ai appelé pour vous informer de la mort de Marie Louise de Lafayette."

The words echoed in Gil's head. The detective kept talking, but Gil did not comprehend much. He stared ahead blankly and slack jawed.

Hercules sat up in bed. "Gil? What is it?"

Gil dropped the phone to his side. "I have to go to France immediately," he whispered.

Hercules quickly stood. "What? Why? What's wrong?"

"My mother has died."

They were silent for a moment.

"Oh." Hercules rubbed his husband's shoulders. "Do you really have to go all the way to France for that?"

"She is my mother, Hercules."

"I know, but...after how she was with you..."

Gil nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hercules, I...I have to do this."

"I don't think you should be so forgiving. You aren't obligated to care about her, you know."

"Hercules, _please_."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. How long do you think we'll be there?"

"You are not coming."

"...Why not?"

"I am going to see if Thomas will join me. And it's not your business, anyway."

"How is it Thomas' business but not mine?"

"You aren't her family. I don't want to argue with you anymore, today."

Hercules sighed. "Fine. Just let me help you pack."

* * *

Thomas did not appreciate being woken up at four in the morning by a dozen texts, calls, and knocks on the door. So, he made James handle whatever was going on. Thomas only got more frustrated when James returned to say that Thomas was needed downstairs right away.

Thomas whined for another minute before he stomped down to find Gil at the door. Thomas was planning on sassing his cousin for waking him up, but Gil looked even more tired and a little sad. Instead, Thomas asked, "What's going on?"

Gil crossed his arms as if he was cold. "I'm going to France for a few days." He paused. "Maman died."

Thomas met Gil's eyes for a moment. "I'll get my things."

* * *

Gil was assaulted by memories as soon as he stepped out of the airport. The sights, sounds, smells-it was all so incredibly _French._ Gil took a deep breath and let it all set in. He hadn't been here in at least ten years when his kids had met his grandmère.

Actually, they had returned less than a year later when Gil's grandmère had passed away, and now he was back for the same reason. Except he couldn't tell if now was better or worse.

Gil flinched when Thomas patted his shoulder. "Come on," Thomas said gently, "let's get this over with."

* * *

There was no funeral. They didn't even watch her get buried. They simply went to Gil's childhood home to see if there was anything worth taking back to America.

Gil never cried. He just felt numb as he and Thomas walked through the house and sifted through his mother's belongings.

"Did she take drugs while you lived here?" Thomas asked at one point.

Gil shook his head. "I was everything to her after Papa died. It doesn't surprise me that she fell apart after I left."

"Fell apart even more than she already had, you mean."

"...Yeah."

Gil chose to take a family photo from when he was little and nothing else.

* * *

They went to a café for lunch the next day. They silently sipped their coffees and enjoyed the calm quiet around them.

"I'm sorry."

Gil looked up from his cup and raised his eyebrow at Thomas. "For what?"

Thomas tugged on a handful of his own hair. "I...I was such a dick to you when we were younger. And I never took you seriously when it came to your mom."

Gil shrugged. "Most of our family didn't, really."

Thomas cringed. "Sorry."

Gil watched the trees rustle in the wind.

"I feel like I've still been being a jerk to you."

"Non. It's mostly Alexander you are rude to."

"Yeah, well he's a dumbass."

Gil giggled and nodded.

"But my own daughter is being hated for acting like I did in school. And I hate it, because I didn't mean to raise her like that, but..."

"She doesn't like acting like that."

"What?"

"She just fell into the position she's in and she feels trapped by it," Gil explained. "She doesn't like being rude, but it's all she knows anymore. It's like how you feel, I suppose."

"How do you know that?"

"Has she not talked to you about it?"

"I...I guess I could have figured it out...is she talking to you about it or something?"

"No. She's been talking to Stephen. Quite frequently, so I'm told."

Thomas gaped slightly at Gil. "I thought Stephen hated her."

Gil shrugged. "That child is difficult to understand. He doesn't even understand himself very well. But, yes, they have been talking, and Stephen talks to Maria, who talks to Peggy, who talks to me. And Philip is smart enough to understand what is going on, and he tells Georges, and Georges talks about his friends more than anything else. He's so happy to see his friends starting to get along with Mary. He misses his cousin. I mean-"

"Second cousin." Thomas and Gil laughed together. When the laughter died down, Thomas sighed and said, "I miss my cousin, too."

Gil's eyes flicked between Thomas'. "I do, too."

"Can we be best friends, again?"

Gil grinned. "You'll have to talk to Alexander and Peggy about that. They've been fighting over that position for years."

They laughed again.


End file.
